Kayla Mueller

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Syria to Help Locate Missing Americans

Move follows sanctions relief and direct talks between the two countries

(Newser) - For the first time since the Syrian civil war began, the Syrian government has pledged to help the US locate missing Americans—an unexpected move reflecting rapidly warming ties between the two countries. Syria's new government has agreed to assist the US in locating and returning Americans who...

Islamic State 'Beatle' Guilty in Deaths of Americans

El Shafee Elsheikh, convicted on all counts, faces life in prison

(Newser) - A jury convicted a British national Thursday for his role in an Islamic State group hostage-taking scheme that took roughly two dozen Westerners captive a decade ago, resulting in the deaths of four Americans, three of whom were beheaded. The jury deliberated for four hours before finding El Shafee Elsheikh...

ISIS Captive's Letter to Dad Leaves Courtroom in 'Tears'

Peter Kassig, killed in 2014, wrote that his last thought would be of the love of his parents

(Newser) - If Peter Kassig was true to his word, the only thought running through his mind as he was beheaded by Islamic State terrorists was how much his parents loved him. Ed Kassig, the father of the US aid worker who was taken hostage in Syria in 2013 and killed a...

Family of Kayla Mueller Happy ISIS Leader Is Dead
Family of Kayla Mueller
Happy ISIS Leader Is Dead
THE RUNDOWN
Oct 28, 2019 6:53 AM CDT

Family of Kayla Mueller Happy ISIS Leader Is Dead

Raid was a 'lifeline' for embattled Trump

(Newser) - The parents of Kayla Mueller say they are "so grateful" to President Trump and the special forces soldiers who took part in the raid that led to the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi . Mueller, an aid worker from Arizona, was kidnapped by ISIS in 2013 and the...

Red Cross Breaks 5-Year Silence on Kidnapped Nurse

Louisa Akavi may be alive, 5 years after being taken by ISIS

(Newser) - Her name is Louisa Akavi, and the world is far more familiar with her onetime cell mate: American aid worker Kayla Mueller . Both were kidnapped by ISIS, and while Mueller was killed while in custody, Akavi is believed to be still alive. Akavi is a 62-year-old New Zealand nurse, and...

FBI Testing Possible Remains of ISIS Hostages

Captured 'Beatles' provided info on burial sites

(Newser) - The families of American hostages murdered by ISIS in Syria may finally be able to lay their loved ones to rest. Officials and relatives tells ABC News that human remains in areas of Syria liberated from the group are being tested by the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va., though it...

Captured ISIS Fighters Might Know Where Mueller's Body Is

They're said to be pointing out grave sites

(Newser) - The capture of two ISIS fighters who may know the whereabouts of Kayla Mueller's body has raised hope that her parents might finally be able to put their daughter to rest. ISIS said the aid worker kidnapped in Syria in 2013 was killed in 2015 when a Jordanian airstrike...

Fellow ISIS Captives Amazed by Kayla Mueller's Strength

Chilling 'proof of life' video surfaces

(Newser) - Fresh details of Kayla Mueller's days as an ISIS captive are revealed in an ABC 20/20 report airing Friday night, and they highlight both the horror of her circumstances and her amazing strength. Four former hostages, including three women who shared a cell with the young American in 2014,...

Families of Slain Hostages to Obama: Save Austin Tice

US journalist is being held captive in Syria

(Newser) - American journalist Austin Tice—believed to be the only US reporter held hostage anywhere in the world—was captured in Syria in August 2012. Since then, US hostages James Foley , Peter Kassig , Kayla Mueller , and Steven Sotloff have been killed, and their families fear Tice's parents will soon have...

ISIS Widow Charged in Kayla Mueller's Death

Sayyaf was captured in raid that killed her husband

(Newser) - The widow of an ISIS commander killed in an American raid last year could be spending the rest of her life in a US prison for her brutal mistreatment of American hostage Kayla Mueller and other captives, federal prosecutors say. Umm Sayyaf, a 25-year-old Iraqi woman captured in the raid...

US Hostage Gave Up Chance to Escape to Help Girls

Kayla Mueller 'was like a mother figure to them'

(Newser) - Despite being sexually abused by the leader of ISIS over a period of 18 months, US hostage Kayla Mueller is said to have turned down a opportunity to escape in order to give two young girls a better chance to survive, the Independent reports. A 14-year-old Yazidi girl who was...

ISIS Leader Raped American Hostage
ISIS Leader Raped
American Hostage
Aug 14, 2015 3:32 PM CDT

ISIS Leader Raped American Hostage

Parents of late Kayla Mueller say she was tortured

(Newser) - Awful reports are emerging today about the late American hostage Kayla Mueller on what would have been her 27th birthday. The Independent reports that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi raped her multiple times while she was in captivity. The story is based on the account of a teenage Yazidi...

US Raid Netted 'Treasure Trove' of ISIS Intelligence

Sources say slain militant kept US hostage as slave

(Newser) - The Syria raid that resulted in the death of ISIS commander Abu Sayyaf has yielded some priceless intelligence, lawmakers say, even though Sayyaf ended up dead instead of in custody, the Guardian reports. House Homeland Security committee chief Michael McCaul tells Fox News the Friday raid netted "a treasure...

Kayla Mueller's Family Releases Her Last Letter

It's the 2nd letter they've released to media

(Newser) - Kayla Mueller's family previously released what was billed as her last letter to them, but now they've released another, and this one is reportedly the final communication they received from her before she was killed while an ISIS captive. Today has it in full. "Once again you...

Kayla Mueller's Dad: US Put 'Policy' Before 'Lives'

Carl Mueller, wife, son interview airing tomorrow

(Newser) - "We understand the policy about not paying ransom," Carl Mueller, father of slain ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller, tells NBC . "But on the other hand, any parents out there would understand that you would want anything and everything done to bring your child home. And we tried. And...

Kayla Mueller's Boyfriend: She Wouldn't Lie to Save Herself

Omar Alkhani said he was her husband, but Mueller didn't go for the story

(Newser) - Kayla Mueller's Syrian photographer boyfriend says he went back in 2013 to the detention cell in Syria where he had once been held with Mueller to plead for her release. For a few seconds, Omar Alkhani even saw her face when captors removed her covering to prove it was...

Report: US Sat on Info About Hostages' Location

Daily Beast says US waited a month to act on British intelligence

(Newser) - A few weeks after the US staged a failed rescue mission last July to retrieve ISIS hostages Kayla Mueller , James Foley , and Steven Sotloff , the Muslim insurgents started sending out a gruesome chain of beheading videos. Now US and UK officials are saying that the hostages had been moved just...

Obama: We Did Everything We Could to Get Kayla Mueller

But he draws the line at paying ransom; meanwhile, loved ones pay tribute

(Newser) - President Obama says his reaction to the death of ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller is "heartbreak"—but he thinks her "great spirit" will live on. "The more people learn about her, the more they appreciate what she stood for—and how it stands in contrast with the...

Kayla Mueller's Last Letter Released

'I will not give in no matter how long it takes'

(Newser) - Along with confirming the death of their only daughter today, Kayla Mueller's parents have released the last letter she wrote to them while in the hands of ISIS. It begins, "Everyone, If you are receiving this letter it means I am still detained but my cell mates (starting...

ISIS Hostage Kayla Mueller Confirmed Dead

It's still unclear how she died

(Newser) - "We are heartbroken to share that we've received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller has lost her life." That from the parents of the 26-year-old American, who was being held by ISIS in Syria. ISIS on Friday claimed Mueller was killed during airstrikes carried out by Jordan, when...

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