American woman held captive by IS, parents notified of her death

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Twenty-six year-old American aid worker Kayla Jean Mueller, held by Islamic State militants, has been pronounced dead. The White House made a statement that the U.S. intelligence community has not been able to determine how or when she died. President Barack Obama also said that no matter how long it takes, the United States will find and bring to justice the terrorists who were responsible for Kayla’s demise. Mueller is the fourth American to die while being held captive by Islamic State militants. Journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and aid worker Peter Kassig were decapitated by the group. Journalist Austin Tice disappeared in August 2012 while covering Syria’s civil war. Mueller was taken hostage in August 2013 while leaving a hospital in Syria. Her identity was kept secret for safety purposes. On Friday, the Islamic State had claimed that Mueller perished in a Jordanian airstrike. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there was no evidence that civilians were in the area the day of the strike. A U.S. intelligence official added that it was a blatant lie, and Mueller was not killed in that airstrike. Mueller graduated from Northern Arizona University in 2011. She worked with several humanitarian groups at the Turkish-Syrian border, including: Support to Life and the Danish Refugee Council. Mueller had also worked for aid groups in India, Israel and the Palestinian territories, as well as at an HIV/AIDS clinic and women’s shelter in Arizona.

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