US President Barack Obama confirmed the death of Kayla Mueller, a US aid worker who had been held hostage by Islamic State militants, saying the United States would “find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible”.

Jordan is going after Islamic State group militants wherever they are and plans to “wipe them out completely,” Jordan’s interior minister said.

Islamic State said yesterday that an American woman hostage it was holding in Syria was killed when Jordanian fighter jets bombed a building where she was being held, but Jordan expressed doubt about the Islamist militant group’s account of her death.

Sony Pictures Entertainment made the shock decision to cancel the Christmas Day release of controversial comedy The Interview amid the threat of terrorist attacks from hackers and America’s largest multiplex chains pulling the film from their screens.

Barack Obama is going public to try to convince war-weary Americans that limited strikes against Syria are needed for the United States’ long-term safety.