Paula Kassig, the mother of Peter Kassig (now known as Abdul Rahman since he changed his name and converted to Islam), started a new Twitter account which has been tweeting a letter directed at the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or the Islamic State) leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
"I am trying to get in touch with the Islamic State about my son's fate. 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?"
A Letter from Abdul-Rahman Kassig's Mother to IS Caliph Al Baghdadi pic.twitter.com/QUXTXluVnY
- Paula Kassig (@PaulaKassig) October 8, 2014
Kassig followed up her original Tweet in English with one in Arabic. She has also continued tweeting her original message, tagging user accounts that appear tied to the Islamic State.
The Indianapolis Star confirmed with a Kassig family spokesman that the @PaulaKassig Twitter account was legitimate.
Alongside her husband Ed, Paula appeared in a video Saturday pleading with the group to release their son.
"We've asked our government to change its actions," Ed Kassig said in the video, "but like our son, we have no more control over the US government than you have over the breaking of dawn."
Rahman was abducted on Oct. 1, 2013 while providing humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees near Raqqa. After he left the military, he attended college, became EMT-certified, and founded an an aid agency named Special Emergency Repsonse and Assistance (SERA).