JACKSON, Wyo. (KDVR) — One of the Marines killed during an attack and series of bombings in Kabul, Afghanistan was a Wyoming native, FOX31 has learned.
According to the Wyoming Department of Education, Rylee McCollum was killed on Aug. 26 in the attack as U.S. troops were evacuating people from the capitol city overrun by the Taliban. McCollum graduated from Jackson Hole High School in 2019.
McCollum called Bondurant home, according to Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordan.
A terrorist group, ISIS-K, has taken credit for the suicide bombing and attack. So far, at least 13 U.S. troops and 60 Afghanis were killed in the attack.
“Saying that I am grateful for Rylee’s service to our country does not begin to encapsulate the grief and sadness I feel today as a mother and as an American. My heart and prayers are with Rylee’s family, friends, and the entire Jackson community,” said Wyoming State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow.
“We will find many ways to honor Rylee for this ultimate and untimely sacrifice in the coming months and years – but for now, my arms are wrapped around Rylee’s loved ones from afar and I pray they find some comfort,” Balow said.
As many as 1,000 Americans and many more Afghans are still struggling to get out of Kabul, ahead of President Biden’s deadline to remove all U.S. troops from the country by Aug. 31.