Feb. 11--REPORTING FROM TUCSON -- An attempt to rescue Kayla Mueller and other American hostages occurred in a July 4 raid previously disclosed by the Pentagon.
U.S. special forces commandos conducted a raid in the predawn hours on a prison in Islamic State's Syrian stronghold of Raqqah.
But the mission was unsuccessful because hostages -- which included Mueller as well as American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff -- had already been moved and weren't there at the time.
"We never stopped trying to get her," said a defense official, who wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter. "We never lost that focus."
President Obama confirmed for the first time Tuesday that Mueller was one of the hostages Delta Force commandos attempted to rescue in a raid on an oil refinery facility in northern Syria in summer 2014. The two dozen commandos arrived a day or two after the hostages had been moved from the site, Obama said.
She said in the letter that she was willing to wait for her freedom if it meant that her family would be absolved of the burden of negotiating her freedom.
"I DO NOT want the negotiations for my release to be your duty, if there is any other option take it, even if it takes more time," she wrote. "This should never have become your burden."
Her family described her as relentlessly optimistic. Even while held hostage, Mueller said she found reasons to be grateful.
"By God and by your prayers I have felt tenderly cradled in freefall. I have been shown in darkness, light [and] have learned that even in prison, one can be free," she wrote. "I am grateful. I have come to see that there is good in every situation, sometimes we just have to look for it."
Times staff writers Duara and Hennigan reported from Tucson and Washington, respectively. Staff writers Christi Parsons in Washington and Alexandra Zavis in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
