--- description: Kayla Jean Mueller had been held hostage since 2013 title: U.S. Confirms Death of American Held By ISIS image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt189aba38e7bc1270/69877e6655a859afc5a85bab/kayla-mueller-isis.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Terrorism](/tag/terrorism/) ## Terrorism Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.S. Confirms Death of American Held By ISIS by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 10, 2015 3:33 PM CUT  Kayla Mueller, 26, an American humanitarian worker from Prescott, Ariz. Kayla Mueller, 26, an American humanitarian worker from Prescott, Ariz.Mueller Family—Reuters by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 10, 2015 3:33 PM CUT An American aid worker that the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) said was killed in a Jordanian airstrike has indeed died, officials and her family confirmed Tuesday. “We are heartbroken to share we’ve received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller has lost her life,” her parents Carl and Marsha Mueller [said in a statement.](https://twitter.com/matt%5Fitvnews/status/565162643192033282 "undefined") Mueller’s parents had been holding out hope that she was alive after ISIS, which had held her hostage since 2013, said she was killed during a Jordanian airstrike against the group [last week](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-isis-hostage-kayla-jean-mueller-wanted-to-help-syrian-kids/ "undefined"). Neither her family nor U.S. officials said whether Mueller was killed in the airstrike as ISIS claimed, only that she is dead. “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,” President Barack Obama said in a statement. “Kayla Mueller used these freedoms she so cherished to improve the lives of others. In how she lived her life, she epitomized all that is good in our world. ” Obama said the United States will “find and bring justice to the terrorists” responsible for her death, “no matter how long it takes.” _Read next:_ [_Obama Faces Challenge in Congress on ISIS War Powers_](http://time.com/3698988/obama-isis-war-congress/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3702970/isis-isil-kayla-jean-mueller/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3702970/isis-isil-kayla-jean-mueller/"},"headline":"U.S. Confirms Death of American Held By ISIS","datePublished":"2015-02-10T15:33:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:17:49.578Z","description":"Kayla Jean Mueller had been held hostage since 2013","url":"https://time.com/3702970/isis-isil-kayla-jean-mueller/","keywords":["Terrorism","White House","ISIS"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt189aba38e7bc1270/69877e6655a859afc5a85bab/kayla-mueller-isis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt189aba38e7bc1270/69877e6655a859afc5a85bab/kayla-mueller-isis.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kayla Mueller, 26, an American humanitarian worker from Prescott, Ariz.","caption":"Kayla Mueller, 26, an American humanitarian worker from Prescott, Ariz.","creditText":"Mueller Family—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/terrorism/","name":"Terrorism"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3702970/isis-isil-kayla-jean-mueller/","name":"U.S. Confirms Death of American Held By ISIS"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inside ISIS and Al-Qaeda’s Battle for Brand Supremacy","description":"They may share similar goals but the two groups are bitter rivals","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/gK3s3WLk/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-04T23:06:56.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gK3s3WLk.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3702970/isis-isil-kayla-jean-mueller/","duration":"PT5M16S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3702970/isis-isil-kayla-jean-mueller/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```