Peter Kassig standing in front of a truck filled with supplies for Syrian refugees
An Indiana aid worker threatened with beheading by the Islamic State group said in a June letter that he’s afraid to die and is saddened by the pain his captivity must be causing his family, his parents said Sunday.
In a statement released to media, Ed and Paula Kassig said their 26-year-old son, Abdul-Rahman Kassig, thanked them for their strength and commitment. And he appeared to try to prepare them for his death.
“I am obviously pretty scared to die but the hardest part is not knowing, wondering, hoping, and wondering if I should even hope at all,” Kassig said in the letter, according to his parents. “I am very sad that all this has happened and for what all of you back home are going through. If I do die, I figure that at least you and I can seek refuge and comfort in knowing that I went out as a result of trying to alleviate suffering and helping those in need.”
Kassig was taken captive by the Islamic State group Oct. 1, 2013, in Syria, where he was providing aid for refugees fleeing that country’s civil war.
The group said in a video after the beheading of British aid worker Alan Henning last week that Kassig would be next. The Kassigs pleaded for their son’s freedom in a video statement released Saturday.
According to a former Islamic State hostage, Kassig voluntarily converted to Islam sometime between his capture and December 2013, the Kassigs said. He was known as Peter Kassig before his conversion. AP
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