Former Assad commander claims US journalist Austin Tice was executed – BBC

BEIRUT — New revelations about the fate of American journalist Austin Tice, missing in Syria since 2012, were published Sunday by the BBC.

Citing security sources, the report claims Tice was executed on the orders of Bashar al-Assad, according to General Bassam el-Hassan — the man accused of detaining him.

Hassan, a former commander in the Republican Guard and senior figure in the National Defense Forces, was reportedly involved in Tice’s 2012 abduction.

Tice disappeared near Damascus in August 2012, a few days after his 31st birthday. He was working as a freelance journalist and was about to leave the country.

While the former Syrian regime has always denied knowing his fate, Hassan, who is subject to British, American, Canadian, and European sanctions, is said to have met with American FBI and CIA agents three times in Lebanon since the beginning of the year. The man had sought refuge in Iran after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, but he traveled to Lebanon following assurances that he would not be arrested, reportedly given by the Americans in exchange for information about Tice. He also allegedly provided indications about the location of the American's body.

Sources close to the FBI told the BBC that they are verifying this information and that efforts to locate the body are underway.

Western intelligence sources communicated their skepticism to the British network regarding the Syrian general's version, knowing that Bashar al-Assad rarely gave such orders and preferred to distance himself from such actions.

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As for Tice's mother, Debra, who continues to fight to find her son, she told the site she is convinced that “Hassan gave the FBI agents the version they wanted to hear to help them close the case.” “I am his mother, I still believe he is alive and that he will be free soon,” she assured.

Another source from the Syrian Defense Forces told the BBC that “Austin’s value was well known,” and that he was “a valuable card” for the former regime in negotiations with the United States.