Kayla Mueller's Syrian Boyfriend: 'I Came Back to Save Her'

The Syrian boyfriend of deceased American hostage Kayka Mueller has recalled his relationship with the aid worker before her recent death while being held by the Islamic State.

Omar Alkhani, a Syrian, recalled meeting Mueller while she was working as an aid worker in Egypt in 2013. The two began dating, and both ended up working in Syria, where they were both kidnapped by Islamic State militants while leaving a Doctors Without Borders facility in Aleppo.

While Alkhani was released 20 days after his kidnapping, Mueller, a native of Arizona, was kept in captivity for months until her death was reported by the Islamic State last week.

Alkhani now tells the Associated Press that he had the chance to visit Mueller, 26, while she was being kept in captivity. The guards asked Alkhani to have Mueller confirm that the two were husband and wife, but Mueller reportedly refused, attempting to tell the truth in order to save Alkhani from further imprisonment.

"Why are you telling them you are not my wife?" Alkhani recalls asking Mueller in front of the Islamic State guards, to which Mueller replied: "I don't know."

"Since she's American, they would not let her go anyway. No sense to stay here, both of us," Alkhani said. "Maybe she wanted to save me. Maybe she didn't know I came back to save her."

The Islamic State sent photographic proof of Mueller's death last week, although it has not been confirmed how the aid worker died. President Barack Obama issued a statement vowing to avenge Mueller death by ending the power of the Syrian-based terrorist group.