In search for US journalist Tice, a clue from 11 years ago
Published: 04:12 PM,Dec 15,2024 | EDITED : 08:12 PM,Dec 15,2024
Debra Tice, mother of US journalist Austin Tice who was kidnapped in Syria holds a dated portrait of him during a press conference in the Lebanese capital Beirut. - AFP
Jonathan Landay
The writers are National Security Correspondent at Reuters
In the early days of 2013, an American man, dressed in ragged clothing, dodged between houses in the streets of Damascus’ upscale Mazzeh neighbourhood looking for a civilian to take him to safety after more than five months of captivity in the concrete cells of a local prison. The man, journalist Austin Tice, was taken captive during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012.
A former Marine, he had managed to slip out of his cell, one current and three former US officials and a person with knowledge of the event said. All were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive US intelligence. Tice’s 2013 escape, reported here for the first time, was the first public sighting of the American after he disappeared, the officials said.
Tice is now the focus of a massive manhunt following the ouster of Syrian president Bashar al Assad this week after 13 years of civil war. Rebels, led by Hayat Tahrir al Sham, have since released thousands of people from prisons in Damascus where Assad held political opponents, ordinary civilians and foreigners.
The American has not yet been found. There are no credible hints of his whereabouts but also no clear evidence that he is dead, a US official said. US officials say that Tice's 2013 escape from prison, where he was believed to have been held by a pro-government militia, is the strongest evidence the US government has to suggest that forces loyal to Assad held Tice. This has over the years allowed American officials to pressure the Assad government directly about the matter. The White House declined to comment for this story. The CIA, Office of the Director for National Intelligence and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
When Tice escaped, he was spotted by people living in the Mazzeh neighbourhood, wandering the street. He entered the house of a well-known Syrian family, the name of which is being withheld for security reasons, a person familiar with the escape said. Tice was recaptured soon after his escape, one current and one former US official said. US officials believe it is likely that Tice was taken after his escape by forces who answered directly to Assad.
One person with knowledge of the escape said Tice was potentially passed back and forth between several different government intelligence agencies in the following years. The administration of former president Barack Obama received another tip in 2016 that Tice had been taken to a hospital in Damascus to receive care for an unknown illness, in what would be his second known sighting, a US official and a person familiar with the tip said.
But current US officials are not as confident in that report as they are in his 2013 escape. Over the years, Tice's family - which has led the charge in trying to find him - has spoken publicly of their frustration with the US government, saying it has not prioritised Tice's release. They are now gathered in Washington in the hope they can soon celebrate his freedom.
The family declined a request for comment. 'We believe he’s alive. We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet,” US president Joe Biden said last Sunday, fuelling optimism about Tice’s fate. Over the last 12 years, US agencies, including the FBI, the State Department and the CIA, have gathered thousands of tips about Tice. Most are nearly impossible to verify.
Tice, who worked as a freelance reporter for the Washington Post and McClatchy, was one of the first US journalists to make it into Syria after the outbreak of the civil war. In August 2012, during fighting in Aleppo, he was taken captive.
Weeks later, a YouTube video was published showing Tice blindfolded, hands tied behind his back. He was led up a hill by armed men in what appeared to be Afghan garb and shouting 'God is great' in an apparent bid to blame rebels for his capture although the video only gained attention when it was posted on a Facebook page associated with Assad supporters. - Reuters
The writers are National Security Correspondent at Reuters
In the early days of 2013, an American man, dressed in ragged clothing, dodged between houses in the streets of Damascus’ upscale Mazzeh neighbourhood looking for a civilian to take him to safety after more than five months of captivity in the concrete cells of a local prison. The man, journalist Austin Tice, was taken captive during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012.
A former Marine, he had managed to slip out of his cell, one current and three former US officials and a person with knowledge of the event said. All were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive US intelligence. Tice’s 2013 escape, reported here for the first time, was the first public sighting of the American after he disappeared, the officials said.
Tice is now the focus of a massive manhunt following the ouster of Syrian president Bashar al Assad this week after 13 years of civil war. Rebels, led by Hayat Tahrir al Sham, have since released thousands of people from prisons in Damascus where Assad held political opponents, ordinary civilians and foreigners.
The American has not yet been found. There are no credible hints of his whereabouts but also no clear evidence that he is dead, a US official said. US officials say that Tice's 2013 escape from prison, where he was believed to have been held by a pro-government militia, is the strongest evidence the US government has to suggest that forces loyal to Assad held Tice. This has over the years allowed American officials to pressure the Assad government directly about the matter. The White House declined to comment for this story. The CIA, Office of the Director for National Intelligence and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
When Tice escaped, he was spotted by people living in the Mazzeh neighbourhood, wandering the street. He entered the house of a well-known Syrian family, the name of which is being withheld for security reasons, a person familiar with the escape said. Tice was recaptured soon after his escape, one current and one former US official said. US officials believe it is likely that Tice was taken after his escape by forces who answered directly to Assad.
One person with knowledge of the escape said Tice was potentially passed back and forth between several different government intelligence agencies in the following years. The administration of former president Barack Obama received another tip in 2016 that Tice had been taken to a hospital in Damascus to receive care for an unknown illness, in what would be his second known sighting, a US official and a person familiar with the tip said.
But current US officials are not as confident in that report as they are in his 2013 escape. Over the years, Tice's family - which has led the charge in trying to find him - has spoken publicly of their frustration with the US government, saying it has not prioritised Tice's release. They are now gathered in Washington in the hope they can soon celebrate his freedom.
The family declined a request for comment. 'We believe he’s alive. We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet,” US president Joe Biden said last Sunday, fuelling optimism about Tice’s fate. Over the last 12 years, US agencies, including the FBI, the State Department and the CIA, have gathered thousands of tips about Tice. Most are nearly impossible to verify.
Tice, who worked as a freelance reporter for the Washington Post and McClatchy, was one of the first US journalists to make it into Syria after the outbreak of the civil war. In August 2012, during fighting in Aleppo, he was taken captive.
Weeks later, a YouTube video was published showing Tice blindfolded, hands tied behind his back. He was led up a hill by armed men in what appeared to be Afghan garb and shouting 'God is great' in an apparent bid to blame rebels for his capture although the video only gained attention when it was posted on a Facebook page associated with Assad supporters. - Reuters