Obama says US deploying all available assets to free US woman in ISIS captivity

US president tells NBC News he is in contact with family of woman being held by terror group.

US President Barack Obama speaks during CBS News interview, November 9 (photo credit: screenshot)
US President Barack Obama speaks during CBS News interview, November 9
(photo credit: screenshot)
The US is working to free a 26-year-old American woman who is a captive of the terrorist organization Islamic State, US President Barack Obama said in an interview with NBC News aired on Sunday.
Islamic State terrorists have held the unnamed woman since August 2013. Over the course of her captivity, US officials, along with her family, have remained firm in their request that her identity remain anonymous and out of the public eye.
She is believed to be the only remaining American in Islamic State confinement after the group beheaded aid worker Peter Kassig in November. On Saturday, the group also beheaded Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, after the failure of international efforts to secure his release through a prisoner swap.
“We are deploying all the assets that we can, working with all the coalition allies that we can to identify her location.”
“We are in very close contact with the family, trying to keep them updated,” the US president said.
“Obviously, this is something that is heartbreaking for the families,” he added. “Our obligation is to do anything we can to try to make sure that any American citizen is rescued from this situation.”