The third American hostage held by ISIS has reportedly been killed in a Jordanian airstrike. The woman, whose first name was leaked on live television by White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, was an aid worker in Aleppo at the time of her abduction by the Islamic State.
ISIS alleges she was killed outside Raqqa, Syria. Then again, the source isn’t credible...at all (via ABC News):
The claim could not be immediately confirmed and ISIS did not provide photographic evidence of the woman's death, as the group has in the past with other hostages and its own fighters. ISIS did use the woman’s full name, which has not been made public.The statement appeared to contain some discrepancies, including Thursday’s date on accompanying pictures purportedly showing the building that was struck, while the statement claimed the strikes occurred during Friday prayers. ISIS also claimed she was the only person killed in that particular airstrike, with none of its fighters injured or killed.
A spokesperson for the State Department told reporters today her department did not “have any way to corroborate this information” concerning the claim. A White House National Security Council spokesperson said they're aware of the claim but had no immediate comment.
Officials believe ISIS has misled the public before about the fate of hostages. The Jordanian government believes ISIS killed a Jordanian pilot the terror group was holding a month ago, even though the terror group pretended he was alive during hostages negotiations last week.
Reuters reports that U.S. officials are still unsure if the hostage, Kayla Mueller of Prescott, Arizona, was killed in the strike. When McDonough accidentally uttered Kayla's first name on ABC News' This Week, many publications, like Foreign Policy magazine, refused to publish her name even though it was printed in a transcript of the broadcast.
UPDATE: Jordan denies ISIS' claims, with officials saying “this is just another PR stunt.”
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