New York, Feb 10 (IANS) The US has confirmed the death of aid worker Kayla Mueller, who was held hostage by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group after being captured in Syria, media reported Tuesday.

Her family said they were “heartbroken” to learn the news, CNN reported.

President Barack Obama offered his condolences to the young woman’s family and vowed to “bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible”. Mueller “represents what is best about America”, he said.

On Friday, IS claimed that Mueller — captured in northern Syria in 2013 — had been killed in a building that was hit during a Jordanian airstrike on Raqqa, the militants’ de facto capital in Syria. At the time, IS offered no proof to back up its claim, other than an image of a badly damaged building.

Over the weekend, the IS sent the family a private message, National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said Tuesday.

“Once this information was authenticated by the intelligence community, they concluded that Kayla was deceased,” Meehan said.