Report: US Military Takes Custody of American Citizen Released from Syrian Prison
The White House stated that it had no prior indication that the U.S. citizen was in Syria.
An American citizen who went missing in June has reportedly been transported out of Syria by the U.S. military after being released from Syria’s prison this week, which came in the aftermath of the collapse of the Assad regime.
Travis Timmerman, 29, was handed over to U.S. forces at Tanf garrison, near the borders of Iraq and Jordan. He had reportedly been flown to Jordan on a U.S. military helicopter, according to U.S. officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.
Timmerman was freed after Syrian insurgent groups seized control of the capital Damascus on Dec. 8 and ousted President Bashar al-Assad, forcing Assad to flee the country.
White House National Security spokesman John Kirby stated on Dec. 12 that the U.S. government had no prior indication that Timmerman was in Syria.
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Speaking to reporters in Jordan on Dec. 13, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. government is working to bring home an American citizen found in Syria, without naming Timmerman.
Thousands of political prisoners, who had been detained following the country’s civil war that began in 2011, had been freed as Syrian rebels broke into detention facilities across the country after Assad’s ouster.
Jackson Richman, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
