Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
White House Pushes to Find American Journalist Abducted in Syria
d8a347b41db1ddee634e2d67d08798c102ef09ac
By The New York Times
Published 2 months ago on
December 19, 2024

Armed rebel fighters inside the infamous Sednaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Dec. 16, 2024. U.S. officials believe American journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in 2012, was at one point held at Sednaya prison in Syria. (Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON — The White House has given the rebel group that toppled the Syrian government a list of former officials who might have knowledge about Austin Tice, an American journalist who was abducted in Damascus in 2012.

The list of names provided to the group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is short, officials said, because U.S. investigators believe that only a small group in the Assad government knows the details of the case.

The outreach to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the U.S. designated a terrorist organization in 2014, reflects the Biden administration’s intense efforts to find out what happened to Tice and take advantage of the group’s willingness to help in the search.

Among the former Syrian officials on the list are Ali Mamlouk, a former head of Syria’s National Security Bureau intelligence service; Bassam al-Hassan, a close adviser to Bashar Assad, Syria’s ousted leader; and Hussam Luqa, a general who ran the General Intelligence Directorate, U.S. officials said.

Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, directed that the information be provided to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the days after the fall of the Assad government, according to U.S. officials, who were not authorized to talk publicly about the discussions with the group.

White House Hoping for Russian Support

The White House hopes that the Russians might be able to help. Assad fled to Moscow, and U.S. officials have asked Russia to speak with him about Tice. They have also reached out to Lebanese officials who might have insights into some of the people on the list who escaped to Beirut, such as Mamlouk. Al-Hassan’s location is unknown.

The United States also gave the rebels a list of possible places in Syria where Tice might be.

Journalists and nongovernmental workers have been searching prisons and other sites for clues about Tice but to no avail. The search has been complicated by Israeli bombings of Syrian military sites, which could contain clues about Tice.

The United States had previously asked Israeli officials to avoid striking prisons where Tice might have been held or that could have information about him.

In a letter to Tice’s mother sent Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said he was coordinating with the Americans. He said the Israeli army was not active in the area where Tice might be but did not provide details about the location.

The United States is weighing sending Roger D. Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, to Damascus, but the decision is complicated by security concerns and the U.S. designation of the rebel group as a terrorist organization, officials said. Since the Syrian government fell, Carstens has traveled to Beirut and Amman, Jordan, trying to advance the Tice case.

Officials said if credible information surfaced, the U.S. government could move quickly, pointing to the military’s presence in Syria. Last week, when an American who had vanished nearly seven months ago emerged from a Syrian prison, the U.S. military flew him out of the country to Jordan.

Tice was abducted in August 2012. Weeks later, he appeared blindfolded in a video with masked men carrying assault rifles. Former American officials believe that the video was a ruse to blame militants for his abduction.

Investigators Think Tice Escaped Then Found

Investigators believe that Tice briefly escaped weeks after he was seized but was found by Syrian intelligence in a neighborhood in Damascus.

A witness who has spoken to the FBI said al-Hassan was involved in Tice’s capture and imprisonment. The witness said al-Hassan was furious when Tice escaped.

After he was recaptured, Tice was placed in a detention facility under the control of al-Hassan, who was in charge of Assad’s security.

FBI agents have worked for years to piece together what happened to Tice and perhaps bring criminal charges as it has in other hostage cases. The FBI and the Justice Department recently charged Syrian officials with committing war crimes.

The Biden administration has tried repeatedly to pry information out of the Syrians but failed. In 2022 and 2023, Brett McGurk and Joshua Geltzer, senior White house officials, traveled to Oman to meet with Imad Moustapha, a former Syrian ambassador, U.S. officials said.

The U.S. officials confronted Moustapha with a document showing that the Syrians had Tice in their custody in 2012. The document, one of the U.S. officials said, was the equivalent of what is known in law enforcement circles as a “BOLO” — or be on the lookout — as Syrian officials combed Damascus looking for Tice after his escape.

Mamlouk has played a reoccurring role in U.S. efforts to learn more about what happened to Tice. In 2017, Mike Pompeo, the CIA director at the time, spoke on the phone with Mamlouk about Tice. A senior CIA official later traveled to Damascus during the Trump administration and spoke with Mamlouk.

Then in 2020, Carstens went to Damascus seeking answers from Mamlouk. As in previous encounters with U.S. officials, Mamlouk disclosed nothing about Tice.

Last week, the FBI released an age-enhanced picture of Tice, who would be 43 years old.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Adam Goldman/Daniel Berehulak
c. 2024 The New York Times Company

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

DON'T MISS

Fresno Students Entering the Work World Need Your Help to ‘Dress the Part’

DON'T MISS

Hanford Shooting Leaves One Dead, Another in Critical Condition

DON'T MISS

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

DON'T MISS

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

DON'T MISS

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

DON'T MISS

State Department Lays out Plans for $7 Billion-Plus Arms Sale to Israel

DON'T MISS

Donation to Food Bank to Provide 1.3M Meals to Western Fresno County

UP NEXT

Fresno Students Entering the Work World Need Your Help to ‘Dress the Part’

UP NEXT

Hanford Shooting Leaves One Dead, Another in Critical Condition

UP NEXT

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

UP NEXT

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

UP NEXT

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

UP NEXT

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

UP NEXT

State Department Lays out Plans for $7 Billion-Plus Arms Sale to Israel

UP NEXT

Donation to Food Bank to Provide 1.3M Meals to Western Fresno County

UP NEXT

Fresno Mission Opens Second Thrift Store Supporting Homeless, Recovering Addicts

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

2 hours ago

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

3 hours ago

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

3 hours ago

State Department Lays out Plans for $7 Billion-Plus Arms Sale to Israel

3 hours ago

Donation to Food Bank to Provide 1.3M Meals to Western Fresno County

3 hours ago

Fresno Mission Opens Second Thrift Store Supporting Homeless, Recovering Addicts

4 hours ago

Judge Blocks Trump From Placing 2,200 USAID Workers on Paid Leave

5 hours ago

Alaska Legislature Asks Trump to Retain Denali’s Name

5 hours ago

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed laws Friday setting aside $50 million to help the state protect its policies from c...

2 hours ago

FILE - California Gov. Gavin Newsom waits for President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump to step off Air Force One upon their arrival at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
2 hours ago

Newsom Signs $50M Plan to Battle Trump Policies, Support Immigrants

2 hours ago

Fresno Students Entering the Work World Need Your Help to ‘Dress the Part’

Hanford police arrested a suspect in a fatal shooting outside an In-N-Out, believed to be linked to an illegal drug transaction. (Hanford PD)
2 hours ago

Hanford Shooting Leaves One Dead, Another in Critical Condition

2 hours ago

Rabies Detected in Fresno, Reedley. Fresno County Urges Caution Around Wild, Stray Animals

Ice is visible in the Bering Sea Jan. 22, 2020, as seen from a small plane airplane near the western Alaska coast. (AP File)
3 hours ago

Plane Located That Matches the One That Went Missing in Alaska With 10 Aboard; 3 Bodies Found

President Donald Trump smiles as he arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP/Ben Curtis)
3 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Revoking Biden’s Security Clearance in Payback Move

Fresno police are searching for Tommy Savala, 75, who was last seen Thursday morning near Simpson Avenue and North Fresno Street. (Fresno PD)
3 hours ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help in Locating Missing 75-Year-Old Man

McLane and Duncan Polytechnical high school students walked out Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, to protest deportations, marching down Cedar Avenue. (GV Wire/Eric Martinez)
3 hours ago

Fresno Students Walk Out of Class to Protest Deportations

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend