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| In this May 30, 2013, photo, Kayla Mueller is shown after speaking to a group in Prescott, Ariz. A statement that appeared on a militant website commonly used by the Islamic State group claimed that Mueller was killed in a Jordanian airstrike on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the militant group's main stronghold. The IS statement could not be independently verified. |
BEIRUT (AP)
-- Islamic State extremists claimed that an American woman held hostage
by the group was killed Friday in a Jordanian airstrike in northern
Syria, but the government of Jordan dismissed the statement as "criminal
propaganda" and the U.S. said it had not seen any evidence to
corroborate the report.
The woman was
identified as Kayla Jean Mueller, an American who went to Syria to do
aid work, but there was no independent verification of the militants'
claim. The statement appeared on a militant website commonly used by the
group and was also distributed by Islamic State-affiliated Twitter
users.
The 26-year-old Mueller, of Prescott, Arizona, is the only known remaining U.S. hostage held by the Islamic State group.
If
the death is confirmed, she would be the fourth American to die while
being held by Islamic State militants. Three other Americans -
journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid worker Peter Kassig -
were beheaded by the group.
Journalist Austin
Tice, of Houston, Texas, disappeared in August 2012 while covering
Syria's civil war. It's
not clear what entity is holding him, but it is
not believed to be the Islamic State group or the Syrian government, his
family has said.
The announcement was the
second time this week that extremists announced the death of a hostage.
They released a video Tuesday showing Jordanian air force Lt. Muath
al-Kaseasbeh, also 26, being burned to death in a cage in gruesome
images that caused outrage in Jordan and the rest of the region.
Al-Kaseasbeh,
whose F-16 came down in December while conducting airstrikes as part of
a campaign against the militants by a U.S.-led coalition, was believed
to have been killed in early January.
Friday's
statement said Mueller was killed in the militants' stronghold of Raqqa
in northern Syria during Muslim prayers - which usually take place
around midday - in airstrikes that targeted "the same location for more
than an hour."
It published photos purportedly
of the bombed site, showing a severely damaged three-story building,
but offered no proof or images of Mueller.
The
statement said no Islamic State militants were killed in the
airstrikes, raising further questions about the veracity of the claim.
Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani said it was investigating.
"But
as a first reaction, we think it's illogical and we are highly
skeptical about it. How could they identify a Jordanian warplane ... in
the sky? What was the American lady doing in a weapons warehouse?"
al-Momani said.
"It's part of their criminal
propaganda. They have lied that our pilot is alive and tried to
negotiate, claiming he is alive while they had killed him weeks before,"
he added.
American officials said they also were looking into the report.
Bernadette
Meehan, the spokeswoman for President Barack Obama's National Security
Council, said the White House has "not at this time seen any evidence
that corroborates" the claim."
"We are obviously deeply concerned by these reports," she added.
A
U.S. official said coalition aircraft did conduct bombing near Raqqa on
Friday, but had nothing to confirm the claim that the American captive
was killed in the airstrike. He spoke on condition of anonymity because
he wasn't authorized to discuss the issue with reporters.
White
House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters the U.S. coordinates with
the Jordanian air force as they fly airstrikes. He wouldn't say whether
the U.S. was aware of the hostage's location.
Mueller
had been working in Turkey assisting Syrian refugees, according to a
2013 article in The Daily Courier, her hometown newspaper. She told the
paper that she was drawn to help with the situation in Syria.
"For
as long as I live, I will not let this suffering be normal," she said.
"It's important to stop and realize what we have, why we have it and how
privileged we are. And from that place, start caring and get a lot
done."
According to the newspaper, Mueller had
been working with the humanitarian aid agency Support to Life, as well
as a local organization that helped female Syrian refugees develop
skills.
A 2007 article about Mueller from the
same newspaper said she was a student at Northern Arizona University and
was active in the Save Darfur Coalition. A statement from the office of
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Mueller graduated in 2009 and had
worked to help people in need in India, Israel, the Palestinian
territories and in Arizona.
On Sunday, Obama said the U.S. was "deploying all the assets that we can" to find Mueller.
"We
are in very close contact with the family trying to keep them updated,"
he said in an interview with NBC's "Today" show. "Obviously this is
something that is heart-breaking for the family, and we want to make
sure we do anything we can to make sure that any American citizen is
rescued from this situation."
Mueller's identity had not been disclosed until now out of fears for her safety.
Jordan
has stepped up its attacks against the Islamic State group after the
extremists announced they had put al-Kasaesbeh to death.
The
Syrian government said Thursday that dozens of Jordanian fighter jets
had bombed Islamic State training centers and weapons storage sites. It
did not say where the attacks occurred.
The
Jordanian military said its warplanes carried out a series of attacks
Friday and "destroyed the targets and returned safely." It did not
elaborate.
Activists who monitor the Syrian
conflict from inside the country said coalition planes hit several
targets on the edges and outskirts of Raqqa in quick succession.
A
Raqqa-based collective of anti-IS activists known as "Raqqa is Being
Slaughtered Silently" said the planes targeted multiple IS positions and
headquarters in the western and eastern countryside of Raqqa, sending
up columns of smoke. Explosions could be heard in the city. The
collective said there were no recorded civilian casualties, and did not
mention any IS casualties.
The Britain-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said dozens of IS members were
killed in coalition airstrikes that targeted a tank and vehicle depot in
the area of al-Madajen and at least six other IS positions, including a
training camp and a prison.
