US checking report of 2nd American killed in Syria

The US is trying to determine if a second American fighting with the Islamic State group has been killed in Syria.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki says that the US has no independent confirmation of reports of a second American killed while fighting with the militant group. “We’re looking into it,” she says.

NBC cites an anonymous member of the opposition Free Syrian Army as saying two Americans were killed in a battle last week with Islamic State fighters.

The US has confirmed the death of one American, Douglas McArthur McCain, who grew up outside Minneapolis in the town of New Hope and most recently lived in San Diego. Investigators are aware that McCain was in Syria to fight with the militant group, says a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

–AP