Syrian interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa (right) shaking hands with Lebanese-American diplomat Thomas Barrack, newly appointed special envoy for Syria, during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 24, 2025. (Credit: Muammer Tan / Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Reuters)
The Syrian government under Ahmad al-Sharaa will help the United States “locate” Americans who went missing during the Syrian civil war, U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack announced on Sunday.
“A major step forward. The new Syrian government has agreed to help the United States locate and repatriate American citizens or their remains. The families of Austin Tice, Majd Kamalmaz and Kayla Mueller deserve closure,” he wrote on X.
Journalist Austin Tice was kidnapped in Syria in August 2012 by unidentified armed men after reporting south of Damascus. His abduction has never been claimed, and his family maintains they have reason to believe he is still alive.
Majd Kamalmaz was captured during a private visit to Damascus in 2017.
Kayla Mueller, who worked with the Danish Refugee Council, was abducted in Aleppo (north) in August 2013. ISIS claimed the 26-year-old hostage was killed near Raqqa, Syria, in February 2015 during airstrikes by the U.S.-led international anti-jihadist coalition. Her body has never been found.
U.S. President Donald Trump has “made it clear that bringing home American citizens or properly honoring their remains is a top priority. The new Syrian government will help us fulfill that commitment,” the U.S. envoy added.
The new Syrian leadership ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December during a lightning offensive led by a coalition of radical Islamist groups headed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the now-dissolved former Syrian branch of the jihadist group al-Qaeda. HTS was led by Sharaa.
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