Islamic State Holds US Female Aid Worker Hostage, Demands US$6.6mn Ransom

Reuters / Suhaib Salem

Islamic State militants, holding a third American hostage, a 26-year-old humanitarian worker kidnapped last year in Syria, are demanding a ransom of US$6.6 million and the release of a Muslim woman from a US prison.

The kidnapped woman, whose family asked not to be identified, is the third of at least four Americans known to be held by Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS), currently terrorizing large swaths of northern and western Iraq after years fighting in Syria’s civil war.

American journalist James Foley, allegedly executed by IS militants, was the fourth hostage. Another known hostage, fellow journalist Steven Sotloff, was seen alive but under duress in the video footage that signaled Foley’s decapitation. The woman had been working for several humanitarian aid groups when she was kidnapped.

The U.S. government and the woman's family requested Tuesday that she not be named for fears of her safety.

The administration officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.

Other American hostages were being held by other groups. These include Peter Curtis, who was released by al-Nusra Front earlier this week.