SEPTEMBER 2, 2014
RAQQA, SYRIA
MORNING
The woman with 157 days to live hides her panic.
Sadistic ISIS thugs have just shown Kayla Mueller video of Steven Sotloff’s beheading. This comes just three weeks after James Foley suffered the same fate. Kayla well knows that two of the British hostages were also recently beheaded. These were her friends, men with whom she shared her thirteen months of captivity. It is beyond her imagination that they would ever suffer such a horrible fate. Kayla struggles to keep her own fear in check, trying not to think about Mohammed Emwazi, the British-born ISIS soldier who sliced the throats of Foley and Sotloff. But Emwazi is a constant presence in her life, a jailer she sees almost every day. She is well aware that he could appear in her doorway at any time, butcher knife in hand.
Lack of food makes Kayla’s dire predicament worse. Today, like every day in captivity, Kayla is hungry. Her jailers do not feed her much. Breakfast is bread and cheese. Dinner is rice or macaroni. She was long ago stripped of her Western clothing and forced to don a long abaya, hijab, and veil.
Despite her plight, Kayla remains strong, even rebellious. She does not back down when Emwazi threatens her. He is fanatical about his radical Muslim ideology and berates Mueller for her Christianity. “If you don’t convert to Islam, this will happen to you—we will behead all of you.”
Beheading becomes Kayla’s greatest fear, preventing her from attempting escape. But each time Emwazi gloats that Kayla must convert to Islam, she quickly fires back, stating that she will never abandon her Christian faith.
In this way, Kayla contains her emotions, hiding her fear and putting forth a veneer of defiance. So far, the ISIS men have not touched her, although they delight in raping the captured Iraqi women. The fact that she is off-limits offers Kayla hope. She thinks this is because she is an American, and has no idea she is being saved for al-Baghdadi.
One other bit of news: there are rumors among the hostages of a failed rescue attempt two months ago by Americans.
What Kayla doesn’t know is that those rumors are true.
July 3, 2014. Two Black Hawk “Night Stalker” helicopters pass low over the Euphrates River and flare into a hover outside an oil refinery on the edge of Raqqa. It has been four hours since this covert hostage rescue mission went “wheels up” in the neighboring country of Jordan. In almost total darkness, a dozen Delta Force commandos flew over the hostile Syrian desert. Americans are about to fast-rope to the ground, then immediately advance toward their target with guns drawn.
In the skies above, two direct action penetrator helicopters (DAPs), armed with rockets and heavy-caliber machine guns, circle in search of ISIS ground troops. Farther up in the dark nighttime sky, drones survey the surrounding landscape. The United States does not make a habit of penetrating Syrian airspace, so little is known of the country’s government air defenses. Even less is understood about the terrorists on the ground, although it is assumed that an armed response will be likely.
The Delta Force rescuers believe the hostages are being held in buildings on the grounds of the refinery. They know this because Danish photojournalist Daniel Rye Ottosen was held here just three weeks ago, before his government paid a $2.3 million ransom for his release. Ottosen returned to Denmark, where he was interviewed by FBI agents on June 22. He told them exact details of the prison in which Kayla Mueller and the other hostages were being held. Based on that information, the White House approved the rescue mission. Special Forces personnel traveled from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to a secret location in Jordan, where the raid was rehearsed.
Once the operation was set in motion tonight, the four US helicopters encountered vicious winds and hellish sandstorms during the long flight to the refinery target. The exceedingly difficult journey is made worse by the near-certainty of combat.
Shortly after landing, the dozen Delta Force “snake eaters”—as they are often called for their willingness to do anything to complete a mission—are greeted by a wave of automatic-weapons fire. Black-clad ISIS fighters temporarily pin down the Americans.
Temporarily.
Within moments, the terrorists take such heavy casualties from the circling DAPs that they fall back to wait for reinforcements. So many members of ISIS are killed that they never return to confront the Americans. Only one American is wounded in the fighting—helicopter pilot Michael Siler suffers a shattered leg when an ISIS round penetrates his cockpit. Not having the option of landing, seeking medical assistance, or even taking medication for his pain, Siler will fly five more hours without landing until the mission is complete.
The rescuers quickly search the compound. They find evidence that the American hostages were indeed once held there, but an hour of looking for false walls or other hidden rooms turns up nothing.
The Delta Force pilots and soldiers all do their jobs with precision. The intelligence reaped from captured cell phones and computers is enormous. The infiltration and exfiltration of the rescue force without a single loss of American life is a remarkable success, particularly in such a hostile environment.
But the hostages remain in captivity.
April 29, 2019: Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s first video appearance in five years, a month after Islamic State militants were driven out of their last stronghold in Syria.
On July 4, one day after the raid, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi shows his face for the first time in four years. He is preaching in Mosul’s Great Mosque. The ISIS leader is dressed in black robes and matching turban. This public sermon puts to rest any rumors that he is dead or injured. The United States has placed a $10 million bounty on his head, but al-Baghdadi is defiant.
Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, fell to ISIS just one month ago. Its conquest is obviously a great victory for ISIS. This is al-Baghdadi’s moment to gloat, particularly in light of yesterday’s failed rescue attempt. “Khalifa Ibrahim,” as he calls himself, is puffed up and arrogant. The name refers to his self-anointed role as caliph of the Islamic State’s conquered territory; it also references the prophet Abraham.* In his twenty-minute oration, al-Baghdadi declares himself the ruler of all Muslims. He states that slavery is a fact of life—followers of Islam belong to Allah, but nonbelievers are destined to become the property of Muslims. This reference to Kayla Mueller and the other American hostages is very much intentional.
Outside, ISIS fighters patrol the boulevards, searching for anyone in violation of Islamic law. Some wave large black flags, and all carry fully loaded AK-47 automatic weapons slung over their shoulders.
“Do jihad in the cause of God, incite the believers, and be patient in the face of this hardship,” al-Baghdadi encourages the congregation. “If you knew about the reward and dignity in this world and the hereafter through jihad, then none of you would delay in doing it.”
On July 12, 2014, the Islamic State publicly announces that it will murder Kayla Mueller within thirty days unless its ransom demand is met. Carl and Marsha Mueller fly to secretly meet with White House officials about potential ways to save their daughter. They are told little that offers them hope. So it is that the days until the ransom deadline tick down slowly.
The beheadings will begin soon after.
Back in Syria, Kayla Mueller is transferred from a prison to a private home an hour away from where the other prisoners are being held. After the beheadings of James Foley and Steven Sotloff, Kayla and Peter Kassig are the only two remaining American hostages. They have been separated. Kayla will never see Peter Kassig again.
The young hostage can definitely feel a change in the behavior of her captors. With two Americans brutally beheaded and videos of the crimes flashing around the world, the United States is finally taking military action against ISIS. But that action is not helping Kayla at the moment.
Kayla is now in the small town of Shaddadah, in the custody of ISIS oil minister Abu Sayyaf and his wife, Umm. The other female captives in the house are the Yazidi women from northern Iraq. Some three thousand of them have been taken hostage and passed around by ISIS terrorists to be raped and abused.
This is when Kayla finally meets Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who is a frequent visitor to the Sayyaf home. The ISIS leader likes to stay up until midnight, then sleep until 10:00 a.m. He sometimes talks to the women but prefers to spend hours alone in his room. “Forget your father and your brothers,” al-Baghdadi tells the captives. “We have killed them, and we have married off your mothers and sisters. Forget them.”
If anything, the increased American pressure leads al-Baghdadi to take an even deeper personal interest in Kayla. He has ordered an email sent to her parents, taunting them about the failed rescue mission. The deadline for ransom payment came and went on August 10, and Kayla is still alive. Four days later, she turned twenty-six. Al-Baghdadi once again uses her as a bargaining chip, emailing her parents that in addition to the $7.2 million in ransom, the US bombardment of ISIS positions must cease in order for her to be released.
Al-Baghdadi wants Kayla to be treated better than the others. Umm Sayyaf is tasked with preparing the aid worker for the caliph’s visits, making sure he will be happy with her appearance. “There was a budget for her,” she will recall many years later, “pocket money to buy things from the shop. She was a lovely girl, and I liked her. She was very respectful, and I respected her. One thing I would say is that she was very good at hiding her sadness and pain.” *
But Umm Sayyaf is no housewife. She is an ISIS warrior, doing a job Islamic law prohibits a man from undertaking. Her task is to procure women for ISIS senior leadership, imprisoning them and listening to their screams as they are raped. She is not beloved by the other women of ISIS, who are deeply irritated that their husbands frequent the Sayyaf household for sex with young women. In late 2014, there are nine Yazidi girls in addition to Kayla under Sayyaf’s supervision.
There is no place to run for Kayla Mueller, so when al-Baghdadi decides it is time, she is led into his bedroom. “I am going to marry you by force and you are going to be my wife,” al-Baghdadi informs the terrified woman. “If you refuse, I will kill you.”
So Kayla Mueller submits to the rapes. Each time, she emerges from the bedroom crying. She is given the new name of Iman and told to begin practicing Islam.
She has now been held for sixteen months.
Late in November, Kayla is told that Peter Kassig has joined the list of the beheaded. Her spirits plummet. When two of the Yazidis attempt to coax her into joining them for a risky breakout, she declines, reminding them they will be killed if they fail. The young girls attempt the escape anyway and are successful, finding their way to Kurdistan, where US officials question them for intelligence regarding Kayla.
But while the freed women can offer details about Kayla’s physical and mental well-being, and even specifics about life inside the home where they were captive, they cannot give the precise location of the home where she is being held.
The truth is, Kayla Mueller has already been moved from the Sayyaf home to al-Baghdadi’s own residence in Raqqa. But when one of the caliph’s wives violently objects, Kayla is repositioned once again. So it is impossible to pinpoint her location.
But there is some good news for Kayla, as Umm Sayyaf says no harm will come to her. Because she is the new wife of al-Baghdadi, she is no longer a captive. Kayla Mueller is now part of the ISIS “family.”
The search continues.
On January 25, 2015, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough appears on ABC News’s This Week. Interviewer George Stephanopoulous brings up the issue of kidnap victims in Syria. Without intending to, McDonough breaks the news that an American woman is in ISIS custody.
“As it relates to our hostages, we are obviously continuing to work those matters very, very aggressively. We are sparing no expense and sparing no effort, both in trying to make sure we know where they are and make sure that we’re prepared to do anything we must to try to get them home. Kayla’s family knows how strongly the president feels about this.”
One week later, President Obama appears on the NBC morning show Today. This is an unusual step for a sitting president, but with growing pressure to rescue Kayla, Obama has little choice. The United States, he says, is “deploying all the assets that we can, working with all the coalition allies that we can to identify her location, and we are in very close contact with her family, giving them updates.”
On February 3, a captured Royal Jordanian Air Force fighter pilot shot down while launching missiles on ISIS positions in Syria is placed in a cage and publicly burned alive. Muath Safi Yousef al-Kasasbeh is twenty-six years old, the same age as Kayla.
The video shocks the world, and calls for action against ISIS mount.
What happens next is unclear. Jordan launches more air strikes against ISIS-held positions. The date is February 6, 2015.
This is the last day of Kayla Mueller’s life. She is not beheaded. Instead, the terrorists say that Syrian bombs kill Kayla Mueller.
The truth is, Kayla Mueller is murdered. Umm Sayyaf will later confirm this during questioning after her arrest. She will claim that Kayla knew too much and presented a threat to ISIS leader al-Baghdadi.
Predictably, ISIS boasts about Kayla’s death on Twitter. The terrorists then send an email to Kayla’s parents. Included in the message is a photograph of Kayla, face bruised and an open wound on her cheek. She lies on her back beneath a shroud.
“May God keep you from any more harm or hurt,” Kayla’s brother, Eric, tells Kayla as he addresses the crowd at a packed memorial service later that month. His voice trembles. “Only now will you be able to see how much you truly did for the world, by looking down on it.”
But there is no burial. Rather than return her body to America, the sadistic al-Baghdadi disposes of Kayla in a hidden location—one that remains secret to this day.
“My immediate reaction is heartbreak,” President Obama says as news of Kayla’s death careens around the world. He has telephoned the Mueller family to offer his condolences. “She was an outstanding young woman and a great spirit. And I think that spirit will live on, the more people learn about her and the more people learn about what she stood for in contrast with the barbaric organization that held her captive.
“But I don’t think it’s accurate … to say the United States government hasn’t done everything we could. We devoted enormous resources—and always devote enormous resources to freeing captives or hostages anywhere in the world.”
On June 24, 2015, four months after Kayla Mueller’s death, President Barack Obama officially announces a change in US policy regarding kidnap victims. There will no longer be prosecution for American citizens who raise the money to make ransom payments to terrorists.