American Woman Killed in Syria Firefight
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ABC News(NEW YORK) — An American woman killed in a Syrian firefight and labeled a terrorist by the Syrian government was identified on Friday as Nicole Lynn Mansfield, a Muslim convert from Michigan.
Mansfield’s body was recovered following fighting near the rebellious Syrian city of Idlib. According to Syrian state media, she was wearing a head scarf and was found with a Michigan driver’s license and U.S. passport on her person. Photographs of those documents were released by government authorities.
Mansfield’s grandmother Carol confirmed to ABC News that the 33-year-old woman had been killed in Syria.
Mansfield is the first American to be killed in the conflict. Her body was found alongside a British national, U.K. authorities confirmed.
Family members told the Detroit Free Press they had been interviewed by the FBI for several hours.
“I’m sick over it,” Mansfield’s aunt Monica Speelman told the paper. “I didn’t think she was [a terrorist,] but God only knows.”
Syria is embroiled in a bloody civil war, pitting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad against a loose-knit network of rebels, some of whom have been tied to foreign terror groups including al Qaeda.
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