The Latest: Hostages say Kayla Mueller brave amid torture

WASHINGTON – The Latest on slain American hostage Kayla Mueller’s time as a prisoner of Islamic State (all times local):

11:35 a.m.

Former hostages say an Arizona woman slain by Islamic State militants remained steadfast in her Christian faith and stood up to her captors despite being tortured, raped and verbally abused.

Four ex-hostages who shared cells at one time with Kayla Mueller spoke publicly for the first time in an interview with ABC News airing Friday.

Frida Saide and Patricia Chavez say Mueller always had a positive spirit while they were imprisoned for six weeks in an abandoned oil refinery in Syria.

They say she constantly demonstrated concern for other prisoners.

A humanitarian aid worker from Prescott, the 26-year-old Mueller was captured in August 2013 after leaving a hospital in Aleppo.

Her family and the Obama administration confirmed her death in February 2015.

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10:40 a.m.

The White House says President Barack Obama plans to donate to the foundation honouring Kayla Mueller (MYOO’-lur), an American killed by Islamic State militants last year.

A foundation in Mueller’s name seeks to honour her commitment to humanitarianism and serving the needy. But Mueller’s father told ABC News in an interview airing Friday that Obama promised during a private meeting in March 2015 to make a contribution, then never did.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says he won’t discuss private presidential conversations. But he says Obama intends to contribute to the foundation in the future. Earnest says the organization is consistent with the types of charities the president and first lady Michelle Obama have donated to previously.

Earnest says the pain and grief Mueller’s family is expressing is “entirely understandable.”