A purported statement from Islamic State militants said Friday that a Jordanian airstrike had killed an American aid worker who was being held hostage in the northeast Syrian city of Raqqa, an extremist stronghold.More. (Also at Memorandum.)
There was no immediate confirmation of the report from Washington or means of verifying whether the militant claim was true.
In a message posted on social media, Islamic State purportedly declared that midday “crusader” airstrikes on Raqqa resulted in the death of the hostage. The post also gave the woman’s name, email address, phone number and a home address in Arizona.
It had been publicly known for months that a U.S. aid worker identified by the militants as Kayla Jean Mueller was being held.
News media had withheld Mueller's name out of concern for her safety. The 26-year-old woman did not appear in any of the hostage videos that Islamic State released in recent months.
“The crusader criminal air force struck a site outside of Raqqa city today at noon during Friday prayers, and the strikes lasted for one hour,” the purported Islamic State message said. “And we have confirmed the death of the American hostage by the bombs that fell on the site.”
In the purported post, Islamic State blamed the woman’s asserted death on the Jordanian air force, which has reportedly been conducting airstrikes on Islamic State targets in recent days.
“The losing Jordanian Air Force kills an American hostage,” read the headline of the message, sent via a Twitter account associated with Islamic State.
The group also posted a photograph of a bombed-out building compound identified as the site where the woman had been held. The message said nothing about other victims...
Various reports have questioned the authenticity of Islamic State's claim, although Jordan today did indeed conduct airstrikes on ISIS jihadis inside Syria. See USA Today, "Jordan pounds Islamic State targets inside Iraq, Syria."
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