U.S. Journalist Austin Tice Allegedly Killed on Assad’s Orders, Says High-Ranking Insider to FBI
A close Syrian security official told the FBI that journalist Austin Tice was executed in 2013 on the direct orders of Bashar al-Assad — the first such testimony from within the regime.
Watan-The Washington Post reported on Sunday that a senior security official close to deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the FBI that American journalist Austin Tice was killed in 2013 on Assad’s orders. This is the first time a high-ranking Assad regime official has spoken to U.S. authorities about Tice’s fate. Tice, a freelance reporter for The Washington Post and McClatchy, was one of the first American journalists to enter Syria after the outbreak of the war in 2011 and was kidnapped in August 2012.
According to U.S. officials and informed sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, the U.S. government is verifying the credibility of claims made by Bassam al-Hassan, a close Assad adviser on strategic affairs. Al-Hassan was questioned over several days in April by the FBI and CIA in Beirut, Lebanon.
Al-Hassan reportedly told the FBI—during meetings also attended by Lebanese officials—that Assad himself ordered Tice’s execution, and that al-Hassan attempted unsuccessfully to persuade him to change his mind. Hassan said he instructed a subordinate to carry out the execution in 2013 after Tice briefly escaped from his detention cell.
Assad Aide Gave FBI Clues on Austin Tice’s Detention and Burial in Damascus
In recent years, U.S. officials obtained a previously undisclosed 2012 Syrian intelligence memo calling for Tice’s recapture after his apparent escape. This memo is viewed as proof that Assad’s regime was holding him despite public denials.
Al-Hassan allegedly advised Assad that Tice—whose case drew White House attention—could be used as a bargaining chip, insisting he was “more useful alive than dead.” Some officials, however, question whether Hassan truly tried to oppose the order, suggesting he may be trying to deflect responsibility.
Hassan also reportedly gave investigators details about Tice’s burial site, which, while inconsistent, all placed it within the Damascus area. The FBI is now working to locate that site.
A second former Syrian official confirmed that al-Hassan had detained Tice. According to Safwan Bahloul, a self-described Syrian intelligence general, Tice was initially held in a garage near Hassan’s Damascus office. Bahloul, who now lives in the UK, said he interrogated Tice, who insisted he was a former U.S. Marine turned freelance journalist.
Syrian Regime Faked Tice Hostage Video, Pledged New Cooperation in Search
In April, Syria’s foreign ministry reportedly pledged to open a liaison office to help locate Tice’s remains as part of talks with the U.S. over lifting sanctions. The same message was echoed in the Syrian foreign minister’s address to the UN Security Council.
Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, visited Damascus in January with Nizar Zakka, head of the hostage aid group Hostage Aid Worldwide. She expressed hope of bringing her son home.
