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More details of the tragic death of American hostage Kayla Jean Mueller are emerging.
I will not include them in the initial post announcing her death and containing tributes to her life.
Here is a separate update.
While the parents of Kayla Mueller did not specify what proof they had received of their daughter’s death, the New York Times reports, “two people who had been briefed on the proof said it consisted of at least three photographs, all headshots.”
The Times continues:
These people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is so sensitive, said two photographs showed Ms. Mueller in a black Muslim head covering, but that contusions to her face were visible. The third photo, they said, showed Ms. Mueller wrapped in a white burial shroud.
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It was unclear whether the injuries seen in the photographs were consistent with the Islamic State’s assertion that Ms. Mueller, 26, died last Friday when Jordanian bombs flattened a structure in northern Syria where it said she had been held. Jordanian and American officials have challenged that assertion.
The Times story also describes how Ms. Mueller was kidnapped by the terrorists in August 2013 and provides some details of a letter to her family that was smuggled out of Syria after she was captured.
The Times concludes with comments by Josh Earnest, the Obama administration’s spokesman, to the effect that information received by the Mueller family, as analyzed by intelligence officials, does not provide any insight into how or when Ms. Mueller died.
The Times:
However, Mr. Earnest disputed the Islamic State’s assertion that Ms. Mueller was killed in an airstrike last Friday conducted by Jordanian warplanes, which are participants in the American-led campaign to bomb Islamic State targets in both Syria and Iraq.
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There was no evidence, Mr. Earnest said, “of civilians in the target area before the coalition strike.” And in any case, he said, the Islamic State militants who were holding Ms. Mueller “were responsible for her safety and well-being.”
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“Therefore,” Mr. Earnest said, “they are responsible for her death.”
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