ARIZONA

White House: ISIS claims on timing of Mueller's death 'not credible'

The Republic | azcentral.com
Kayla Mueller

The White House said that while it isn't yet clear how and when Arizona humanitarian aid worker Kayla Mueller was killed in Syria, the claims by the terrorist group ISIS that she died in a Jordanian airstrike last Friday were "not credible."

ISIS announced Mueller's death last Friday. The U.S. confirmation of her death was made public Tuesday morning. She had been held captive in Syria by ISIS since August 2013. Her family last received evidence that she was alive several months ago.

"We are heartbroken to share that we've received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller has lost her life," her parents wrote in a statement.

President Barack Obama spoke with the Muellers by phone Monday night, said Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council.

"He committed that we will relentlessly pursue the terrorists responsible for Kayla's captivity and death, and underscored that his team stands ready to help the family in the difficult weeks and months ahead," Meehan said.

She said that over the weekend Mueller's family in Prescott received an e-mail message from her ISIS captors. The message included photographs.

"Once this information was authenticated by the intelligence community, they concluded that Kayla was deceased," Meehan said.

However, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that experts were not able to determine the cause or timing of her death. ISIS claimed that Mueller died in an airstrike coordinated between the United States and Jordan on Feb. 6 near Raqqa, Syria, on an ISIS weapons depot.

At a media briefing Tuesday, Earnest dismissed that claim.

"There was no evidence of civilians in the target area prior to the coalition strike," he said. "That certainly would call into question the claims made by ISIL."

ISIL, for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, is an alternative name for ISIS.

In Washington, Sen. John McCain appeared to choke up as he spoke on the floor of the Senate about Mueller's death, saying he was heartbroken for her family. He read excerpts from two letters she had written, including a passage describing how she had helped a Syrian man reunite with a 6-year-old relative after their refugee camp was bombed.

"This is the reality for Syrians, two and a half years on," McCain read from Mueller's letter. "When Syrians hear I'm an American, they ask, 'Where is the world?' All I can do is cry with them, because I don't know."

Shortly after 2 p.m. on Prescott's courthouse square, a handful of Mueller's friends and family spoke to the media, often through tears, about Mueller's devotion to causes much of the world chose to ignore.

"She always said, 'Peace is not something you wish for, it's something you do, it's something you make," said her friend Eryn Street, speaking at Prescott's iconic courthouse square.

One of Mueller's aunts, Lori Lyon, spoke of her niece's bright, inquisitive nature as a little girl. She said she was the perfect combination of her parents Marcia and Carl Mueller: strong, driven, generous, caring and compassionate.

"The world grieves with us. The world mourns with us. The world wants to be more like Kayla. If that is her legacy and the footprint she leaves with the world, that is a wonderful thing," Lyon said.

Prescott-area community members, some of whom were aware of Mueller's situation and had kept her captivity secret at the request of the family, started gathering Tuesday morning to express their condolences.

"I really hope that Kayla inspires people to fight for a cause," said Ellie Kinzel, who volunteered with an anti-genocide group Mueller had led at Northern Arizona University. Kinzel said that after college, "you sort of fall into the mundane with everyday life. Kayla didn't let that happen. ... Kayla would push you to fight for your cause no matter what."

Prescott resident Jane Broome dropped a stuffed tiger off at a prayer sign for Mueller on Tuesday morning. She chose the tiger as a symbol of Mueller's strength. Broome said she has a daughter the same age as Mueller.

"It just makes it hit home when it's someone from Prescott," she said.

Mary Ann and Douglas Hartman teared up, talking about the young woman they'd never met.

"This is sad for our entire country," Douglas said. "And our city," added Mary Ann. "This is like a family. This town is like a family."

Dori Goff, who said her granddaughter knew Mueller from elementary and high school, said "she probably did more good in those 26 years than most people do in 90."

Goff said here has been little else on the townspeople's minds since they found out Friday that one of their own was an ISIS hostage.

"I think they're the most cruel thing we've had since Hitler. And to think, these parents for a year and a half ... had that burden to carry, just is amazing."

Condolences from public figures, and calls for action, also flooded in as news of Mueller's death spread, including House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Reps. Ruben Gallego, Kyrsten Sinema, Ann Kirkpatrick and Raul Grijalva, among many others.

"Kayla represents what is best about America, and expressed her deep pride in the freedoms that we Americans enjoy, and that so many others strive for around the world," a statement from President Barack Obama read.

"ISIL is a hateful and abhorrent terrorist group whose actions stand in stark contrast to the spirit of people like Kayla. On this day, we take comfort in the fact that the future belongs not to those who destroy, but rather to the irrepressible force of human goodness that Kayla Mueller shall forever represent."

Rep. Paul Gosar, whose district includes Prescott, said in a phone interview that the U.S. should loosen the rules of engagement that protect civilians, saying that American forces are limited by, for example, having to ensure buildings are cleared of civilians before bombing. "It's like in 'American Sniper,' " he said. "Are you prepared to kill a 10-year-old carrying an improvised explosive device?"

Mueller's family included in their statement a letter she wrote in November 2014 in which she said she was completely unharmed and healthy and was putting on weight.

"I have been treated w/ the utmost respect + kindness," Mueller wrote in a letter sent to her parents by some of her fellow captives following their release.

"None of us could have known it would be this long but know I am also fighting from my side in the ways I am able + I have a lot of fight left inside of me. I am not breaking down + I will not give in no matter how long it takes," she wrote.

Mueller's family said in statement that their hearts were broken for their daughter and that they remained concerned for the families of other captives in the area.

"We pray for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Syria," Mueller's family wrote.

Mueller, 26, originally went to the volatile area of the Middle East in December 2012, to work on the Turkish-Syrian border with Syrian refugees. She was taken captive about nine months later as she left a hospital in Aleppo, Syria.

Her work, while dangerous, continued her lifelong devotion to volunteering with vulnerable populations, according to family members.

The 2009 Northern Arizona University graduate first traveled to India and then worked with African refugees in Israel, according to family members, before returning to Arizona to volunteer at a homeless shelter and an HIV/AIDS clinic.

But by December 2011, Mueller's commitment to the less fortunate had driven her to France where she was studying French so she could more easily work with African refugees, friends and family members said.

Mueller was last seen outside of captivity in August 2013. She accompanied a friend to a hospital in Aleppo, Syria, operated by the Spanish branch of the group Doctors Without Borders. Although she was not working for the group, she stayed overnight at the hospital out of fear for her safety, said a spokesman for the organization.

On the morning of Aug. 4, 2013, the Spanish group said, it arranged transportation to a bus station for Mueller and a friend. She was kidnapped on the way to the bus station.

A French journalist released from ISIS custody in April said, after the terrorists tied Mueller's death to the Jordanian bombing runs, that Mueller was among the last of his cellmates who were detained.

"I was full of hope she could have a way out," former hostage Nicholas Henin posted in a social media account.

The family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to causes that Mueller would have supported and promised to release additional information in the coming week.