Tenzin Dengkhim

WASHINGTON — A 19-year-old Tibetan immigrant from Virginia has been killed in combat in Iraq, less than one month after deploying there, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports.

Marine Lance Cpl. Tenzin Choeku Dengkhim died April 2 in an explosion while serving as a scout for his platoon in the city of Hadithah, in Iraq's Anbar province, Pentagon officials said. He is the first Tibetan-American killed in combat in Iraq, according to Tibetan community leaders.

“He was a very good boy, deeply religious, and [he] talked of serving Tibet as a soldier after he completed his military career as a U.S. Marine," his mother, RFA Tibetan service broadcaster Rinzin Choedon, said.

"He was very devoted to his grandmother, who lives in Dharamsala [northern India],” she said. “He made sure that his grandmother was present at his Marine graduation ceremony. He was very...