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The parents of a US aid workerÌýkidnapped andÌýkilled by the Ìýgroup (IS) in Syria begged for their daughter's release, a US federal court has heard.

's mother Marsha testified on Tuesday at the trial ofÌý - also known as Jihadi George - who was anÌýalleged member of a group of British IS fightersÌýknown as the IS ''.

Elsheikh -Ìýwho was stripped of his British citizenship in 2018 - has beenÌýaccused of involvement in the murder of Mueller and three other Americans including journalist .

The Sudanese British-born 33-year-old - whoÌýhas denied charges of hostage-taking and conspiracy to murder - is theÌýhighest profile IS fighter to face trial in the US.

Mueller told the court about email exchanges with her daughter's captors, who demandedÌýa ransom of five million Euros or the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman who is imprisoned in the United States for the attempted murder of US soldiers.

"We don't want to harm her," the hostage takers said in a May 2014 email, as they warned the Muellers that theirÌýdaughter - would serve a "life sentence just like Siddiqui" if they could not meet their demands.

The Muellers told the kidnappers they were asking for "an astronomical amount of money from a family with limited resources" and explained that Kayla's father Carl was retired.

The parentsÌýreceived a reply stating "retiring will not help you get your daughter back so go back to work and earn some money".

Mueller's mother then appeared in a video message appealing to then-IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi saying "Kayla is not your enemy... show your mercy and release our daughter".

After failing to respond to subsequent emails sent by Mueller's family, IS claimed in February 2015 that Kayla had been killed in an airstrike by Jordanian warplanes in Syria's northeastern province ofÌýRaqqa.

Elsheikh - who has also been accused of appearing inÌýexecution videos and propaganda for IS -Ìýhas been linked to at least 27 abductions between 2012 and 2015, but has asserted that he was not part of the IS Beatles, who were given their name due to the members' British accents.

The accused's lawyerÌýclaimsÌýElsheikh's arrest is a case of mistaken identity.

Marsha Mueller's emotional testimony came on the fifth day of the trial in US federal court of El Shafee Elsheikh,ÌýwhichÌýis expected to last three to four weeks. Elsheikh facesÌýlife in prison if convicted.