The mother of James Foley - the first American hostage beheaded by ISIS - says the alleged death of Kayla Mueller is proof the government has let their children down.

Diane Foley, whose son was killed by Jihadi John in August last year, says 'nothing was done' to save those in captivity.

Mueller was captured by jihadists in August 2013 and has been held alongside other prisoners - some of whom have been shown in the regime's trademark beheading videos.

Her identity was not widely known until Friday, when ISIS claimed Mueller died in a bombing raid by Jordan.

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Standing by: Diane Foley (left), whose son James was beheaded by ISIS last August, believes the alleged death of Kayla Mueller is further proof the government has let their children down

Outspoken: She accused the American government of standing by as the hostages were held in captivity for two years

Foley told ABC's World News Tonight: 'Kayla, along with our son and others were held for nearly two years and there were many opportunities along the way: several times when the captors reached out, several times when returning hostages brought sensitive information.

'And yet nothing was done to save our young Americans. So that's the part that deeply concerns me.'

The news comes on the back of reports U.S. special operations forces were incredibly close to finding Kayla Jean Mueller, 26, during a rescue mission in July 2014.

A similar mission was launched to try and bring back James Foley just months before his death, however he had been moved by the time special forces arrived.

Foley added: 'I certainly applaud the young, courageous soldiers who went on that mission. It was much too late and the intelligence obviously was poor -- it wasn't good enough for those courageous soldiers -- so they went in for nothing,'

Failed attempts: Mrs Foley, who has been outspoken since her son's (pictured) death, says officials squandered many opportunities to save the hostages while they were in captivity.

Since her son's death Foley has been outspoken about the government's complicity.

In September, she told CNN that 'as an American', she was 'embarrassed and appalled' at efforts to rescue her son from captivity.

Articulate and thoughtful throughout her interview, Mrs Foley said her son 'was sacrificed because of a lack of communication and prioritization.'

'Jim was killed in the most horrific way. He was sacrificed because of just a lack of coordination, lack of communication, lack of prioritization,' said Diane Foley. 'As a family, we had to find our way through this on our own.'

The reports of Kayla's death were met with widespread scepticism, including her parents, Carl and Marsha Mueller, who believe their daughter is alive.

Allegations: The reports of Kayla's death were met with widespread scepticism, including her parents, Carl and Marsha (right) Mueller, who believe their daughter is alive

In a statement released by couple Friday, from their home in Prescott, Arizona, they said they are 'hopeful that Kayla is alive'.

They also begged her captors to contact them privately, and hinted that they had already been in contact with ISIS, who typically demand enormous ransoms for the return of prisoners.