Why death of Kayla Mueller does not fit pattern of Islamic State brutality
Islamic State are known for their brutality but little is known about their latest victim's ordeal
Kayla Mueller's captivity was certainly different.
Islamic State jihadists are known for the bloody, fiery spectacles they make of their prisoners. They show no mercy, even towards women, as seen in the videos of fighters stoning to death an accused adulterer. They've beheaded journalists and aid workers, tossed suspected gays from tall buildings and tortured captive children with electric cables.
And yet, for whatever private horror the 26-year-old Mueller endured for 18 months, her life as a hostage and her death last week, possibly in a coalition air strike, were kept largely out of the public eye.
"We don't know why Kayla was treated differently," said a source who is close to the Mueller family.
Family members also declined to assign responsibility for the other looming mystery of Mueller's ordeal: how she died.
The Islamic State group announced on Friday that she had died in a Jordanian air strike on the building in Syria where she was being held. On Tuesday, the Pentagon acknowledged Jordanian aircraft and American air crews had struck the target on Friday. But they refused to connect Mueller's death to the strike.
Still, US officials didn't dispute Mueller's fate, confirming she was dead after the Islamic State sent the family unspecified "additional information" over the weekend.