News by email Donate

Suggestions

Kayla-Mueller-Main_article_image.jpg
Rex
World News

Murdered Christian aid worker Kayla Mueller forced to marry Islamic State leader before death

by Desmond Busteed

IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi also made the 22-year-old his fourth wife, while threatening her with death if she didn't convert to Islam, the Yazidis have told the BBC.

Dalal, who was 15 when she was captured by Islamic State and taken to a slave market, claims she was forced to share a cell with Kayla Mueller after she and a younger girl, Susan, who was 13, were caught trying to escape from IS leader Baghdadi's house.

Dalal said Kayla was taken from the cell one evening and returned the next day, telling the girls: "He made me his wife and he raped me".

"She did everything Baghdadi wanted. She was too afraid to beg.

"When she came back [from seeing Baghdadi], sometimes she just lay down without saying a word. Sometime she would cry under a blanket. She tried to hide that from us. She didn't want to upset us. She wanted to seem strong," said Susan.

The Yazidi girls say they asked Kayla to run away despite Baghdadi's threats about what would happen but she refused.

"No, they will behead me like my journalist friends," she said.

"She was very afraid about getting beheaded," said Dalal. "But she was also very careful about us."

The Yazidi girls have said Mueller, who was kidnapped in Syria in August 2013, tried to look after them: "When IS brought food for us, Kayla ate very little. She didn't want us to be hungry.

"Kayla was like a sister or a mother to us. When we cried, Susan and I, she would tell us: 'You will get home. You will see your parents again.' She was very kind person. I will never forget what she did for us."

According to IS, Kayla was killed in a Jordanian air strike. But another Yazidi witness has told the BBC that this is not what happened.

Amshe was 17 when she was forced to be a sex slave for Haji Mutazz - the IS number two.

Amshe said he told her Baghdadi was always going to kill Kayla when he had finished with her.

Haji Mutazz laughed when he saw news reports on television that Kayla had been accidentally hit in a coalition air strike, Amshe said.

"Her stupid government," he said. "We killed her."

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate