Hostage status

Hostage nationality

Still held

American or British

Freed

European/other

Killed

’12

’13

’14

’15

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

20

21

22

19

23

James Foley, American journalist

1

John Cantlie, British journalist

2

Mr. Foley and Mr. Cantlie were the first in the group to be abducted, and Mr. Foley was the first to be publicly beheaded.

Sergey Gorbunov, Russian engineer*

3

The militants killed Mr. Gorbunov and showed the other hostages a video of his body.

Federico Motka, Italian aid worker

4

David Cawthorne Haines, British aid worker

5

Mr. Haines was the third hostage to be publicly beheaded.

Daniel Rye Ottosen, Danish photojournalist

6

Mr. Ottosen was one of several prisoners who succeeded in smuggling out letters to the families of remaining hostages.

Didier François, French journalist

7

Edouard Elias, French photojournalist

8

Toni Neukirch, German citizen

9

Nicolas Hénin, French journalist

10

Pierre Torres, French photojournalist

11

Steven J. Sotloff, American journalist

12

Mr. Sotloff was kidnapped minutes after entering Syria. He was beheaded shortly after Mr. Foley.

Kayla Jean Mueller, American aid worker

13

Ms. Mueller’s death was confirmed on Feb. 10. Her parents and officials did not know when she died.

Marc Marginedas, Spanish war correspondent

14

Javier Espinosa, Spanish journalist

15

Ricardo García Vilanova, Spanish photojournalist

16

Peter Kassig, American aid worker

17

President Obama called the killing of Mr. Kassig “an act of pure evil.”

Alan Henning, British aid worker

18

Mr. Henning cashed in his savings to buy a used ambulance. He was the fourth hostage beheaded.

Belgian aid worker

19

Danish aid worker

20

Swiss aid worker

21

Swedish aid worker

22

Peruvian aid worker

23

Five workers from Doctors Without Borders were taken from a field hospital in January. Three were released in April and two in May.