US

Kayla Mueller’s Parents Say They’re Grateful After US-Engineered Raid Leads To Terrorist Leader’s Death

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The parents of a young woman who was repeatedly abused and terrorized by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said they are grateful after President Donald Trump confirmed the terrorist’s death.

Al-Baghdadi reportedly raped and tortured Arizona aid worker Kayla Mueller, who was taken hostage in 2013. Kayla Mueller’s family said they were thankful for the Trump administration’s swift action, but that they still want to know what happened to their daughter, who reportedly died in 2015.

“We were deeply touched by what he said. We were grateful that they didn’t mess around and went right in,” Marsha Mueller told CNN.

“She was held in many prisons,” Kayla Mueller’s father, Carl Mueller, told The Arizona Republic on Sunday after hearing the news. “She was held in solitary confinement. She was tortured. She was intimidated. She was ultimately raped by al-Baghdadi himself.”

Her mother had some choice words for former President Barack Obama, who she said didn’t do enough to free her daughter.

“I still say Kayla should be here, and if Obama had been as decisive as President Trump, maybe she would have been,” Marsha Mueller told The Arizona Republic. “For me what matters most I’m hoping now we will finally get the answers we have been asking for all along. I think this administration truly might help us. I don’t think they are as closed about what happened.”

Al-Baghdadi has been hiding out near the border of Turkey for roughly five years, with his last appearance coming in April when he appeared to be in an ISIS propaganda video. Another video from 2014 appeared to show al-Baghdadi speaking in Iraq.

Mueller was among four Americans ISIS held hostage. Journalist James Foley was also held and ultimately died while in ISIS captivity. Carl and Marsha Mueller said they complied with U.S. authorities’ urgings and kept her story secret while officials worked on her case.