The United States has requested assistance from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in identifying the whereabouts of missing American journalist Austin Tice and facilitating his release during the prison release operations in the country following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, according to a report by Reuters.
White House spokesperson John Kirby stated on Tuesday, October 10, that US officials are doing everything they can to gather as much information as possible about Austin Tice.
Kirby said that the situation in Syria may present an opportunity to gather more information about the American journalist, his location, and condition, adding that US officials assume he is alive and have no conflicting information.
Reward
The US State Department announced a financial reward of up to ten million dollars for information about Austin Tice.
The US-based Rewards for Justice program urged everyone to assist in finding Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012.
The State Department, via its Arabic account on X, stated, “With the fall of the Assad regime, we hope that new information will become available to help clarify his fate,” indicating the possibility of providing information confidentially and receiving the financial reward and immigration options, as well as specifying methods and numbers for contacting regarding this case.
On December 9, US officials pressed for information about Austin Tice. The US State Department stated that Washington’s envoy for hostages, Roger Carstens, was in Beirut as part of intensive efforts to determine Tice’s whereabouts, while National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan indicated that other officials are seeking information from people in Syria.
In the days leading up to Bashar al-Assad’s fall, the issue of Austin Tice’s disappearance resurfaced when his mother announced that her son, detained by the Syrian regime, is still alive.
Debra Tice, Austin’s mother, attributed this information to a “significant source,” which she said was verified by the US government, according to al-Monitor website (based in the US).
Austin’s mother, father, and siblings spoke on December 6 after a meeting with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
According to the site, the meeting took place as Syrian opposition factions advanced toward the city of Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, as part of an attack that posed the most serious challenge to al-Assad’s rule in years.
Washington views the movement and advances of the Syrian opposition factions and their control over vast areas of Syria as a result of the regime’s refusal to engage in the political process, leading to the escalation of events in Syria directly.
On December 8, Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell, and he fled to Russia, where he obtained humanitarian asylum.
Failed attempts
The administration of former President Donald Trump attempted years ago to use back channels with the Assad regime, and in late 2020, White House official Kash Patel and US Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens traveled to Damascus to negotiate regarding detained Americans.
The two men met with the head of Syrian intelligence at the time, Ali Mamlouk (national security advisor in the general secretariat of the presidency until the fall of the regime).
Last September, the US State Department stated that the Syrian regime had something to offer in terms of releasing Austin Tice, with department spokesperson Matthew Miller mentioning in a press conference that Washington knows the regime has held Austin Tice, noting that the US has repeatedly offered to find a way to bring him back to the United States.