ISIS hostage Kayla Jean Mueller confirmed dead

American ISIS hostage Kayla Jean Mueller is confirmed dead - after merciless captors emailed her parents a photograph of her body
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Kayla Mueller, from Prescott, Arizona, had been held in Syria since 2013 and last week ISIS claimed she had died in a Jordanian air strike
On Tuesday, her parents said they had received confirmation she had died after ISIS 'sent them an email and included a photo of Mueller'
The family released a previously unpublished letter she had written to them from captivity in Spring 2014
'I am not breaking down + I will not give in no matter how long it takes,' she wrote in the letter
The White House also released a statement on Tuesday sending the president's condolences to her family
She moved to the Syrian border in 2012 to work for an organization helping refugees and vanished as she left a hospital in August 2013
The exact details of her death have not yet been confirmed

By Lydia Warren For Dailymail.com and Dailymail.com Reporter

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The family of American ISIS hostage Kayla Jean Mueller have confirmed her death - after her captors reportedly emailed them photos of her body.

'We are heartbroken to share that we've received confirmation that Kayla Jean Mueller, has lost her life,' her parents Carl and Marsha Mueller and brother Eric Mueller said in a statement on Tuesday.

'Kayla was a compassionate and devoted humanitarian. She dedicated the whole of her young life to helping those in need of freedom, justice, and peace.'

Mueller, 26, from Prescott, Arizona, was was captured after leaving a Spanish Doctors Without Borders hospital in Syria in 2013.

Last week, ISIS claimed that she had died in a Jordanian air strike but did not provide any evidence.

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Killed: The parents of Kayla Jean Mueller, pictured, said on Monday that they have been notified of her death

On Tuesday, CBS News reported that ISIS sent the family an e-mail saying their daughter was dead and included a photo. The U.S. intelligence community was able to verify the photo, which showed she had died 'recently', CBS said.

The White House also released a statement on Tuesday confirming the young woman's death.

'On behalf of the American people, Michelle and I convey our deepest condolences to Kayla's family – her parents, Marsha and Carl, and her brother Eric and his family – and all of those who loved Kayla dearly,' it read. 'At this time of unimaginable suffering, the country shares in their grief...

'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.'

In their own statement, the Mueller family added: 'We are so proud of the person Kayla was and the work that she did while she was here with us. She lived with purpose, and we will work every day to honor her legacy.

'Our hearts are breaking for our only daughter, but we will continue on in peace, dignity, and love for her.'

Mueller, who moved to the Syrian border in December 2012 to work for a refugee organization, vanished in August 2013 after driving into the Syrian city of Aleppo with her Syrian boyfriend.

On Tuesday, her family also shared a previously unpublished letter she wrote to them from captivity in Spring 2014. It reached them after her fellow cell mates were released and forwarded the note.

In the letter, she detailed how she was turning to God to help her through.

Heartbroken: Kayla with her mother Marsha, who reportedly received an email from ISIS confirming the death

Kayla, with her father Carl Mueller, celebrating the birth of a baby in the family at home in Arizona in 2011

In captivity: The family shared this letter Kayla had written while held last year - see below for the transcript

'I AM NOT BREAKING DOWN AND I WILL NOT GIVE IN NOW MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES': KAYLA MUELLER'S LETTER TO HER PARENTS FROM CAPTIVITY

On Tuesday, the family also released a copy of an unpublished letter Kayla wrote to her loved ones in the Spring of 2014, while in captivity:

'Everyone, If you are receiving this letter it means I am still detained but my cell mates (starting from 11/2/2014) have been released. I have asked them to contact you + send you this letter. It's hard to know what to say.

'Please know that I am in a safe location, completely unharmed + healthy(put on weight in fact); I have been treated w/ the utmost respect + kindness. I wanted to write you all a well thought out letter (but I didn't know if my cellmates would be leaving in the coming days or the coming months restricting my time but primarily) I could only but write the letter a paragraph at a time, just the thought of you all sends me into a fit of tears.

'If you could say I have 'suffered' at all throughout this whole experience it is only in knowing how much suffering I have put you all through; I will never ask you to forgive me as I do not deserve forgiveness.

'I remember mom always telling me that all in all in the end the only one you really have is God. I have come to a place in experience where, in every sense of the word, I have surrendered myself to our creator b/c literally there was no else….+ by God + by your prayers I have felt tenderly cradled in freefall. I have been shown in darkness, light + have learned that even in prison, one can be free. I am grateful.

'I have come to see that there is good in every situation, sometimes we just have to look for it. I pray each each day that if nothing else, you have felt a certain closeness + surrender to God as well + have formed a bond of love + support amongst one another…

'I miss you all as if it has been a decade of forced separation. I have had many a long hour to think, to think of all the things I will do w/ Lex, our first family camping trip, the first meeting @ the airport. I have had many hours to think how only in your absence have I finally @ 25 years old come to realize your place in my life.

'The gift that is each one of you + the person I could + could not be if you were not a part of my life, my family, my support. I DO NOT want the negotiations for my release to be your duty, if there is any other option take it, even if it takes more time. This should never have become your burden. I have asked these women to support you; please seek their advice. If you have not done so already, [REDACTED] can contact [REDACTED] who may have a certain level of experience with these people.

'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.

'I wrote a song some months ago that says, 'The part of me that pains the most also gets me out of bed, w/out your hope there would be nothing left…' aka - The thought of your pain is the source of my own, simultaneously the hope of our reunion is the source of my strength.

'Please be patient, give your pain to God. I know you would want me to remain strong. That is exactly what I am doing. Do not fear for me, continue to pray as will I + by God's will we will be together soon.

'All my everything,

'Kayla'

Parents and Obama confirm death of U.S. aid worker in Syria

'I have been shown in darkness, light + have learned that even in prison, one can be free,' she wrote. 'I have come to see that there is good in every situation, sometimes we just have to look for it.'

She also described her pain at missing her loved ones and asked that they not feel burdened by negotiating for her 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,' she wrote. 'I am not breaking down + I will not give in no matter how long it takes.'

From a young age, Mueller had been passionate about global affairs and other cultures, working to raise awareness of the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan in rural Arizona.

She volunteered for three years with the Save Darfur Coalition and conducted two silent protest marches in her hometown to raise awareness surrounding the issue in 2007.

She also wrote letters and placed calls to members of Congress to push for a change in U.S. policy. Her efforts landed her with several youth awards and she went on to dedicate her life to humanitarian aid.

As a teenager, she gave an interview to her local newspaper, The Daily Courier, where she said: 'I always feel that no matter how much I give, I always get back more through these projects.'

Scene: ISIS last week said she was killed during a Jordanian airstrike. Pictured: The scene of the Raqqa bombing in which she reportedly died - although the details of her death still remained unconfirmed

Well wishers: Turi Whiting leaves a bouquet of flowers at a 'Pray for Kayla' sign in downtown Prescott, Arizona on Monday - the day before the family confirmed the 26-year-old humanitarian worker's death

Prayers: A group from The Muslim Liberty Project (MLP) holds a candlelight vigil for ISIL victimson Monday

After graduating from college, she spent a year living and working with humanitarian aid groups in northern India, Israel and Palestine before returning to Arizona and working at an HIV/AIDS clinic while volunteering at a women's shelter at night.

'In December 2011, she traveled to France to be an au pair so she could learn French in preparation for work in Africa,' her parents explained in an earlier statement. 'War sidetracked Kayla's Africa plans as she was drawn to alleviate the suffering of Syrian refugees.'

She moved to the Turkish/Syrian border in December 2012 and began working with Support to Life and the Danish Refugee Council to help people who had been forced to flee their homes.

'Kayla found this work heartbreaking but compelling; she was extremely devoted to the people of Syria,' her family added.

In May 2013, she had been at home in Prescott, where she shared stories from the front-line with a club where her father is a member.

She told the Kiwanis Club of Prescott that she had reunited a man with a six-year-old relative after their refugee camp in Turkey was bombed, The Daily Courier reported.

After returning to the region, she was working at a hospital in August 2013 when she was taken hostage by the brutal extremists, according to reports.

Passionate activist: Miss Mueller is pictured in 2007 as she headed to college in Flagstaff, Arizona. She had already developed a passion for aid worker as a teenager and had been commended for her work

Devoted: Mueller, then at high school, is pictured in 2007 as she marches in Prescott to call for aid to Darfur

After she vanished, Miss Mueller's family later received proof-of-life evidence as well as a ransom demanding millions of dollars - to be paid by mid-August.

The young woman was reportedly shown in a video, covered by a burqa and begging for her life.

Last week, the terror group said in an unverified comment online that she died during an hour-long bombardment on the jihadis' north Syrian stronghold of Raqqa.

Her identity was kept a secret to protect her and was only reported by news organizations last week after reports emerged of her death.

ISIS has executed five British and American aid workers and journalists in recent months.

Three other Americans - journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, and an aid worker, Peter Kassig - were all beheaded by the group. British aid convoy volunteer Alan Henning and Scottish aid worker David Haines were also killed.

Another hostage, Hervé Gourdel from France, was killed by Jund al-Khalifa, a group with links to Isis, last September.

Nicolas Henin, a French journalist who was held hostage by ISIS, had been held hostage with Miss Mueller. Mr Henin was freed in April 2014 after the French government negotiated with ISIS.

Mr Henin tweeted on Friday: 'Kayla Mueller was among the very last of my former cellmates still detained. I was full of hope she could have a way out.'