ISIS Claims U.S. Captive Died in Jordanian Airstrike in Syria

Horrible as it is, it’s better to die that way than at the hands of IS fanatics. Heaven only knows what she may have endured in captivity.

NYT:

The Islamic State claimed Friday that the Jordanian bombings in northern Syria intended to avenge its immolation of a captured pilot had killed an American woman held hostage by the group.

An Islamic State message published by the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks jihadist activity, said the American woman was killed when the building where she was being held in the Raqqa area collapsed in an airstrike.

“The failed Jordanian aircraft killed an American female hostage,” said the message. “No mujahid was injured in the bombardment, and all praise is due to Allah.” Mujahid means fighter.

The group said the woman was killed by “fire of the shells dropped on the site.”

There was no immediate way to verify the claim by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. But it identified the hostage by name, Kayla Mueller, for the first time, and gave her address in Prescott, Ariz., apparently to add credibility to its message. The group also posted photographs of an obliterated house where, it said, Ms. Mueller’s body was buried beneath the rubble.

“We are obviously deeply concerned by these reports,” said Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council. “We have not at this time seen any evidence that corroborates ISIL’s claim.”