Govind Tekale
A joint US-Qatari search team recently discovered human remains in rural Aleppo province that were initially reported as potentially belonging to missing American journalist Austin Tice. The operation, which involved FBI personnel and Qatar’s international search and rescue group, was facilitated by Syrian security agencies under the country’s new interim government. DNA tests are underway on remains that were transferred to the United States for forensic verification.
However, a spokesman for the Tice family said, “We appreciate whatever mission is ongoing to help families of ISIS victims find closure. However, an initial and erroneous report that Austin Tice was identified among the remains was quickly and completely contradicted.” This clarification came after several regional media outlets had initially suggested the remains might belong to Tice.
The search operation followed intelligence from a former member of the Islamic State, who was previously detained and is believed to have been directly or indirectly involved in the burial site’s location. The remains reportedly belong to three individuals found in what has been described as a mass grave containing ISIS victims.
The Qatari internal security forces said the FBI had requested the search, and that DNA tests are currently underway to determine the identities of the people. According to Reuters sources briefed on the mission, the operation specifically targeted American hostages killed by ISIS during the group’s control of large territories in Syria and Iraq.
Austin Tice, a former Marine captain turned freelance journalist, disappeared on August 13, 2012, while covering the Syrian civil war. He was kidnapped in Damascus in August of 2012. A former captain in the Marines who served in Afghanistan, he had gone to Syria as an independent journalist in May 2012, before his final year at Georgetown Law School.
He was abducted in a suburb of Damascus and appeared in a video shortly thereafter, blindfolded and handcuffed, surrounded by an unidentified armed group. No verified communication has emerged since. The FBI maintains a wanted poster offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to Tice’s safe return.
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Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, revealed in May 2025 that U.S. intelligence knew Tice’s whereabouts up until Assad’s December 2024 fall, prompting criticism of interagency information-sharing failures. The family maintains Tice is alive despite his prolonged disappearance.
His family said in December that they have strong reason to believe he is alive. Debra Tice previously stated, “Austin must be freed diplomatically—not with bombs or bullets” when discussing the search for her son.
The joint Qatar-US operation represents a rare instance of cooperation between American agencies and Syrian authorities following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. Over the past decade, Tice’s case has remained a persistent point of contention in US-Syria relations, prompting repeated diplomatic and intelligence efforts by Washington to uncover his fate.
A previous diplomatic effort emerged earlier this year when former U.S. official Brett McGurk had presented Damascus with a confidential deal: locate and release Austin Tice in exchange for a U.S. military withdrawal from key oil fields in northeast Syria.
The broader mission has uncovered significant findings beyond the Tice case. Since then, dozens of gravesites and mass graves have been discovered in northern Syria containing remains and bodies of people ISIS had abducted over the years.
American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as humanitarian workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig, are among those killed by ISIS. The current search operation continues efforts to provide closure to families of other victims who disappeared during ISIS’s territorial control.
Hostage Aid Worldwide, representing the Tice family, has emphasized caution regarding unverified reports. Their statement requested media outlets to “refrain from speculation” and defer to verified family statements.
The organization clarified: “We would like to clarify that only the Tice family will issue official comments or statements regarding any ongoing developments”. They specified that statements would be made either directly by the family or through Hostage Aid, and only after information has been verified and confirmed.
The State Department had earlier clarified its position on search operations, stating in December 2024 that no U.S. government organization was conducting ground searches in Syria, though this did not preclude cooperation with other nations’ efforts.
The joint US-Qatar search mission discovered three sets of human remains in an Aleppo cemetery. Initial reports suggested these might belong to Austin Tice, but his family contradicted this claim. The remains were transferred to the United States for DNA testing. The mission was part of efforts to locate ISIS victims in Syria. Austin Tice has been missing since August 13, 2012, when he was abducted while reporting in Damascus. The FBI maintains a $1 million reward for information about his whereabouts. His family believes he is still alive and has criticized U.S. intelligence agencies’ information-sharing practices.
