American hostage Mueller's family, U.S. government say she is dead

Mueller's family received an email and photograph over the weekend from her captors that enabled American intelligence to determine that she had been killed, U.S. officials said.

Islamic State said on Friday that Mueller, 26, was killed when Jordanian fighter jets bombed a building where she was being held outside Raqqa, a stronghold of the Islamist militant group. Jordan and U.S. officials have expressed doubt about Islamic State's account of her death.

Mueller was thought to have been the last American held hostage by Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot that controls parts of Syria and Iraq. But on Tuesday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, "We are aware of other American hostages being held in the region." He did not identify them or provide details.

Among hostages thought to be held by Islamic State is British photojournalist John Cantlie, who was captured in northern Syria in November 2012.

American journalist Austin Tice disappeared in Damascus in August 2012, and last week his family renewed its campaign to draw attention to his case. It is unclear who is holding Tice or if he is still alive.

Mueller's family said in a statement on Tuesday that they were "heartbroken" to learn of her death, and they released a copy of a letter she wrote in 2014 while in captivity.

She was captured in August 2013 while leaving a hospital in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. Mueller had previously worked in Turkey providing humanitarian assistance to refugees from Syria's civil war.

In recent months, Islamic State has beheaded three Americans, two Britons, and two Japanese hostages, most of whom were aid workers or journalists.

U.S. SEEKS JUSTICE

"No matter how long it takes, the United States will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for Kayla's captivity and death," Obama said in a statement issued by the White House.

"ISIL is a hateful and abhorrent terrorist group whose actions stand in stark contrast to the spirit of people like Kayla," Obama said, using an acronym for the group.

The White House said Obama called Mueller's parents to offer his condolences.

Last year, Obama ordered American air strikes on Islamic State positions, and the United States is leading an international coalition against the group in Iraq and Syria.

U.S. officials said they had no evidence to support Islamic State claims that Mueller was killed in a Jordanian air strike. They said the details surrounding her death were unclear.

Two U.S. national security officials who have closely followed Mueller's situation said it appeared most likely that she had been killed in some kind of combat situation in which her captors were unable to keep her safe.

Even after Islamic State announced Mueller's death on Friday, her family expressed hope that she was still alive.

The family released a handwritten letter they said Mueller had written to them in the spring of 2014 while in captivity. In it, she stated that she was "in a safe location, completely unharmed + healthy" and had been treated with "the utmost respect + kindness." She wrote that "just the thought of you all sends me into a fit of tears."

"I will never ask you to forgive me as I do not deserve forgiveness," she wrote.

"I have been shown in darkness, light + have learned that even in prison, one can be free."

Mueller went to Turkey in December 2012 to work for a Turkish organization providing humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees along the border with Syria. She had previously volunteered for schools and aid groups abroad including in the West Bank, Israel and India.

In its statement, Mueller's family quoted from a letter she sent to her father on his birthday in 2011: "I will always seek God. Some people find God in church. Some people find God in nature. Some people find God in love; I find God in suffering. I've known for some time what my life's work is, using my hands as tools to relieve suffering."

Asked about Mueller's family soliciting money to pay ransom to gain her release, the White House's Earnest reiterated that it is U.S. government policy not to pay such ransom because the money would be used to fund terrorist groups.

"By refusing to pay ransom, it sends a clear signal to potential hostage-takers that they will not be able to financially benefit from taking Americans hostage," he said.

Earnest also said the White House hopes to complete a review this spring of federal policies to do a better job communicating with families of hostages.