A former Amador County resident and local labor activist was killed abroad while volunteering for a Kurdish group fighting the Islamic State, according to a post from the group’s Facebook page.

The People’s Defense Units, an armed service of the Federation of Northern Syria’s Rojava region also known as YPG, identified Michael Israel, 27, as one of two international fighters killed Nov. 24 during an airstrike by Turkish warplanes in western Manbij.