The White House is disputing claims by the family of slain American hostage Steven Sotloff that moderate Syrian rebels sold their son to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria for tens of thousands of dollars.
“That information does not match the information that I’m currently aware of,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday during his daily briefing. “There is a broad investigation into Mr. Sotloff’s death … and we are determined to bring those responsible for his death to justice.”
Earnest referred reporters to the Justice Department for specific questions about how the FBI is conducting the probe.
He also reiterated that the thoughts and prayers of everyone at the White House remain with the Sotloff family. Last week Islamic State circulated a video showing American journalist Sotloff’s beheading.
CNN reported Monday night that Sotloff’s family has learned from “sources on the ground” that moderate rebels had tipped off Islamic State to Sotloff’s whereabouts and may have even led him into a checkpoint trap in exchange for $25,000 to $50,000.
Reporters asked Earnest whether the story would give the Obama administration second thoughts about its plans to provide lethal arms to the moderate Syrian rebels.
While the U.S. has expressed concern in the past about the difficulty of vetting Syrian opposition forces, Earnest said intelligence officials have “made a lot of progress” in building relationships with the so-called moderates in the country to guard against providing arms to members of terrorist groups.
