The United States made a risky, but ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to rescue American hostage Kayla Mueller from ISIS custody before her death, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday.
“I deployed an entire operation — at significant risk — to rescue not only her, but the other individuals who had been held, and probably missed them by a day or two,” Obama told Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith in an interview.
In his first public comments about Mueller, Obama said he was heartbroken at news of the American humanitarian worker’s death. But he maintained his stance against paying ransoms for American hostage.
“We will do everything we can short of providing an incentive for future Americans to be caught,” Obama said.