Michael Anthony Adams

michael.adams@indystar.com

A Twitter handle claiming to be Paula Kassig, the mother of Islamic State captive Abdul-Rahman Kassig, has been verified by The Star as an authentic account.

"@PaulaKassig," which sent out its first tweet just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, was created by the IS captive's mother, a source close to the family told The Star.

In her first tweet, Kassig directs a message to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed ruler (Caliph) of the Islamic State. She asks how she and her husband can reach al-Baghdadi to find out about their son's fate.

"I am trying to get in touch with the Islamic State about my son's fate," Kassig writes. "I am an old woman, and Abdul Rahman is my only child. My husband and I are on our own, with no help from the government. We would like to talk to you. How can we reach you?"

Since the account's creation, Kassig has tweeted out the same message 10 times, mentioning 18 Twitter handles that are suspected of being connected with members of the Islamic State. In the statement, she mentions the U.S. government's failure to help her family, a sentiment echoing similar feelings shared by Diane Foley, the mother of U.S. journalist James Foley who was beheaded by ISIS in August.

"It was very upsetting because we were essentially told to trust… that the way they were handling things would bring our son home," Foley said in an interview with ABC News. "We were told we could do nothing… meanwhile our son was being beaten and tortured every day."



Foley told ABC News that the government threatened her family with federal prosecution if they attempted to raise money that would be used to pay their son's ransom.

Could the Kassig's face the same type of threat if they were successful in connecting with the IS ruler?

"The Kassig's might 'technically' be violating the law," said Jim White, public safety lecturer at IUPUI. "However, everyone recognizes, to include the United States government, the family is trying to save their son. Prosecution is not on the radar."

On Thursday, Twitter user "@BintelSaif," who appears to be an Islamic State sympathizer, and possibly affiliated with the terror group, responded to Kassig's tweet by saying, "He did not waste his time when being in Army, now we won''t waste our time with him!"

The Kassig family spokesperson declined to comment why the Twitter account was created and what the family hopes to achieve with their messages.

Call Star reporter Michael Anthony Adams at (317) 444-6123. Follow him on Twitter: @MichaelAdams317.