The mother of the captured American hostage Abdul-Rahman Kassig has issued a direct request to the Islamic State leader and pleaded for her son's freedom. She posted a letter on social media site, Twitter, which was addressed to the group's mysterious leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.

Paula, Abdul-Rahman Kassig's mother, has reached out to the jihadi militants in a desperate effort to secure her son's freedom. The plea follows the release of an ISIS video last week which showed the beheading of British aid worker Alan Henning and ended with the militants threatening Kassig to be their latest Western beheading victim.

"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?" Kassig's mother tweeted.

The Independent UK reported that Abdul-Rahman Kassig, who was previously known as Peter, took his new name that meant "servant of the merciful," when he converted to Islam while in custody. The 26-year old hostage was kidnapped in 2013 while doing aid work in eastern Syria. His mother, Paula Kassig went to social media to beg after the latest beheading video was released online by the ISIS which ended with a threat to murder him. The Islamic State militants claim that the decapitations are in response to the US-led coalition airstrikes on its forces.

As per the CNN report, Abdul-Rahman Kassig's mother, Paula also released a You Tube video, pleading her son's captors to "use their power" and free her son. On Wednesday, together with her husband, they attend a vigil at her son's alma mater, Butler University in Indiana.

Paula Kassig also posted a tweet that her family was not receiving any help from the government. But according to BBC News, US State department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters that all efforts were being done to secure Mr. Kassig's release.

Following the vigil, Abdul-Rahman Kassig's mother and her husband issued a statement persuading other Americans to honor their son by advocating humanitarian causes in Syria. They also advised them to learn about the crisis that the Syrian refugees are facing in Turkey.