U.S. woman killed in Syria identified by relatives via online images
(CNN) -- An American woman was among three Westerners reported killed in Syria, her relatives said Friday.
Pictures circulating on the Internet show the body of Nicole Lynn Mansfield, 33, of Flint, Michigan, her father and daughter told CNN on Friday.
"I didn't even recognize her," said daughter Triana Jones about her first view of the pictures. "Then I had to look again. I looked at her body and her feet and her hands and her nose and her mouth, and I knew that it was her."
The dead woman's father, Gregory Mansfield, said he had received no official word of the death but added he, too, had seen the body in the pictures. "It's my daughter," he said. "I'm positive of that."
He said he had notified the FBI three years ago when his daughter converted to Islam, but he had not known what she was doing in Syria. "I want answers," he said.
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Jones, who just graduated from high school, said her mother had learned about a project to help Syrians by "talking to people online," but Mansfield told her she would not be involved in fighting.
During a conversation about a month ago, Jones said, her mother told her she planned to be home within a week, but during their next talk a week or two later she told her daughter that her ID had been stolen and she was not able to return.
"That's the last time I talked to her," said Jones, who added she planned to give her mother an Islamic burial. "She told me that's how she would have wanted it."
Syrian state-run television reported Thursday that forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad killed three Westerners and identified the woman, releasing what it said were images of her Michigan driver's license and U.S. passport. It also released what it said was the name and a picture of the passport of a British citizen. It did not identify a third person it identified as a Westerner.
The news outlet said the three had been fighting alongside the rebels and were found with weapons. The report said they were ambushed in their car in the flashpoint province of Idlib in northwestern Syria, where government forces have been battling rebels for control.
TV video showed a bullet-riddled car and three bodies laid out on the ground. It also showed weapons, a computer, a hand-drawn map of a government military facility and a flag belonging to the al Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front.
Mansfield's grandmother, Carole Mansfield, said her granddaughter had converted to Islam three to five years ago when she was living in Flint. She said she had last seen Nicole Mansfield six to eight months ago, and her granddaughter had previously traveled abroad for religious purposes, including to Dubai within the past three years.
Carole Mansfield said she did not know how her granddaughter died or why she was in Syria.
She described her first grandchild as "a very giving person" who "had a heart of gold."
But she said she did not support her turn to Islam. "At that time, I told her that I thought she was looking a rattlesnake in the eyes."
"She liked their god," said Monica Steelman, Nicole Mansfield's aunt. She said her niece used to go to the neighborhood mosque several times a day.
The United States is aware of the report of the killing and is working through the Czech Republic mission in Syria to obtain more information, a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNN.
Citing privacy concerns, the official said, "We are unable to comment further."
The UK Foreign Office confirmed that a British national was among the dead. "Their family has been informed and we are providing consular assistance," it said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said that some 1,500 to 2,000 American fighters may be in Syria. "It's hard to get a peg on the exact number," he said at a joint news conference in Washington with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle.
The killing continued Friday in Syria, with the opposition Local Coordination Committees reporting 91 deaths by evening, including two women, three children and 50 prisoners who were executed by government forces in Aleppo's Central Prison.
On Thursday, al-Assad told Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV that the balance of power had shifted in his favor.
"The main reason for tipping the balance is the change in people's opinion in areas that used to incubate armed groups, not necessarily due to lack of patriotism on their part, but because they were deceived," he said, according to a transcript of the interview posted by the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency.
"They were led to believe that there was a revolution against the failings of the state. This has changed; many individuals have left these terrorist groups and have returned to their normal lives."
The Syrian president offered no evidence to support that assertion.
The arrival of Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon has had little impact on the overall conflict, he said. "The number of fighters Hezbollah might contribute in order to defend the Syrian state in its battle would be a drop in the ocean compared to the number of Syrian soldiers fighting the terrorists," he said, using the government's term for opposition fighters.
Asked whether Syria has received S-300 missiles from Russia, which supports the Damascus government, al-Assad was noncommittal.
"It is not our policy to talk publicly about military issues in terms of what we possess or what we receive," he said. "As far as Russia is concerned, the contracts have nothing to do with the crisis. We have negotiated with them on different kinds of weapons for years, and Russia is committed to honoring these contracts."
Russia has been criticized by the West for reported sales of six S-300 air defense systems to Syria under a 2010 contract.
Moscow, however, has said such deliveries would conform with international law and has denied supplying Syria with weapons that can be used against civilians.
Kerry described any transfer of S-300s to the region as "not helpful."
"Whether it's an old contract or not, it has a profoundly negative impact on the balance of interests and the stability of the region, and it does put Israel at risk," he said.
Plans for an international conference to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, remain unclear, but al-Assad predicted it will take place in June.
"We have announced a couple of days ago that we agree in principle to attend," he said.
But if conditions are imposed by any of the participants, Damascus could decide to withdraw, he said. "So the idea of the conference, of a meeting, in principle is a good one. We will have to wait and see."
The National Coalition, the main rebel umbrella group, has demanded that al-Assad step aside as a condition for its participation in the talks, which were originally scheduled to be held this month.
Al-Assad said he would require only one condition -- that anything agreed to during the meeting would not be binding until the Syrian people approved it through a popular referendum.
"Either side can propose anything, but nothing can be implemented without the approval of the Syrian people. And as long as we are the legitimate representatives of the people, we have nothing to fear," he said.
It is too early to discuss whether he will run again for president in the 2014 elections, the president said. "When the time comes, and I feel, through my meetings and interactions with the Syrian people, that there is a need and public desire for me to nominate myself, I will not hesitate. However, if I feel that the Syrian people do not want me to lead them, then naturally I will not put myself forward."
Al-Assad said he is confident his government will emerge victorious in its "global war waged against Syria and the resistance."
Al-Assad's remarks came the same day that a leader of the National Coalition said the rebel group may not participate in the Geneva conference.
"It is difficult to continue when Syrians are constantly being hammered by the Assad regime with the help of outside forces," said George Sabra, acting chairman of the National Coalition, in a statement.
He cited the siege of Qusayr and attacks on Eastern Gouta, a suburb of Damascus, as well as what he said was an "invasion" by Iranian militia members in support of al-Assad.
SANA reported Friday that government forces had regained control over four towns in Eastern Gouta.
Russia also has expressed reservations about the planned talks. Conditions on the peace talks demanded by the National Coalition are too restrictive, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters, state news agency ITAR-Tass reported.
"One has the impression that the National Coalition and its regional sponsors are doing their utmost in a bid to prevent the beginning of a political process and resort to all means, including brainwashing in the West, to induce military intervention," Lavrov is quoted as saying. "We regard such approaches as impermissible."
CNN's Stephanie Kotuby and Adam Reiss contributed to this report.
