The American woman held captive by ISIS since 2013 has been killed, according to her family.
According to CNN, the family of 26-year-old Kayla Mueller said that they have received confirmation of her death. "We are heartbroken to share that we've received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller, has lost her life," Mueller's family said in a statement. The White House also offered a statement on Mueller's death:
"The United States will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for Kayla’s...death." —Obama pic.twitter.com/bqnFABLJcn
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 10, 2015The Associated Press reports that the extremist group claimed that the Prescott, Ariz. native was killed in a Jordanian airstrike last Friday. The claim was disregarded by the Jordanian government, and ISIS reportedly offered little evidence aside from a building that had been destroyed.
Mueller's family said she was taken captive in Aleppo, Syria in August 2013 following her departure from a Doctors Without Borders hospital. According to CNN, there was no contact for close to a year, when ISIS reached out with proof that she was alive last summer:
The militants eventually said they would kill her if the family didn't pay nearly $7 million by August 13, 2014, according to a source close to the family. What happened after that deadline is unclear.
[via CNN and Associated Press]
