James Foley's Mother Says She's 'Grateful' ISIS Leader Was Found
BOSTON (CBS) -- The mother of an American journalist killed by ISIS in 2014 said she was "grateful" that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was tracked down. Diane Foley, mother of James Foley, a New Hampshire native whose beheading was captured on video and spread on the internet by ISIS, has become an unofficial ambassador for hostages and their loved ones.
"I'm grateful, however, I hope we will continue to stay vigilant. I don't think we could have done this unless we had been in country. So I'm also very grateful that the president is keeping some troops in country. I just feel our leadership is very much needed," Foley said.
President Donald Trump mentioned her son several times during his announcement Sunday that al-Baghdadi had been killed.
A statement on her behalf was also tweeted. It said: "I am grateful to our President and brave troops for finding ISIS leader Al-Bagdadi. I hope this will hinder the resurgence of terror groups and pray that captured ISIS fighters will be brought to trial and held accountable."
.@FoleyDi statement on Bagdadi's death: "I am grateful to our President and brave troops for finding ISIS leader Al-Bagdadi. I hope this will hinder the resurgence of terror groups and pray that captured ISIS fighters will be brought to trial and held accountable."
— JamesFoleyFoundation (@JamesFoleyFund) October 27, 2019
In a second tweet she asked Trump to make hostages in Syria a priority.
"I remain concerned about the dozen Americans held hostage in Syria, including Austin Tice and Majd Kamalmaz," she said. "And I ask President Trump to make them, and all American hostages, a priority."