WASHINGTON – Travis Timmerman, an American citizen imprisoned in Syria, has been flown out of the country after his release by rebel forces earlier this week, U.S. officials confirmed on Dec. 13.
According to a State Department official, Mr. Timmerman was transferred to Jordan and is now under U.S. consular care. Another official stated that he was initially handed over to U.S. troops at the Tanf garrison, located near the borders of Syria, Iraq, and Jordan, before being flown out.
Mr. Timmerman, who went missing in June, was reportedly freed following the ouster of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad by rebel groups. Assad fled to Russia after a 13-year civil war ended his family’s decades-long autocratic rule, which had made Syria infamous for its oppressive police state.
Following Assad’s removal, Syrians have rushed to uncover the fate of countless detainees believed to have been held in the regime’s notorious prisons.
The White House stated on Dec. 12 that it was unaware Mr. Timmerman was in Syria prior to his rescue.
The case highlights the continued peril for Americans in Syria, as the fate of Austin Tice, another U.S. citizen abducted in 2012, remains unresolved. Mr. Tice, a former U.S. Marine and freelance journalist, disappeared in Damascus at the age of 31 while covering the ongoing conflict.