Hunt for Missing Americans in Syria Turns Up Dozens of Suspected ISIS Victims

Newsweek

12-05-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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The bodies of 30 individuals thought to have been killed by the ISIS Islamist militant group have been discovered in a remote town in Syria by a joint U.S.-Qatari mission, according to the Associated Press.
Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Department of State and the Qatari government for comments.
Why It Matters
The search began as President Donald Trump is headed to Qatar this week during a visit to the Middle East in his first overseas trip since his re-election. The cooperation in the search is another sign of the increasingly close ties between the United States and Qatar under Trump.
A woman and child sit at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on April 18, 2025, as the Syrian Democratic Forces mount...
A woman and child sit at the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Islamic State (IS) group fighters in the northeastern Hasakeh governorate, on April 18, 2025, as the Syrian Democratic Forces mount a security campaign against IS "sleeper cells" in the camp. More
DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images
What To Know
The Qatari Internal Security Forces confirmed that the FBI requested the search and that DNA tests are underway to identify the remains, though they did not specify who the agency is seeking, according to the Associated Press on Monday.
Among those killed by the group were American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff—abducted and executed in 2014—as well aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig.
The Islamic State militant group, known as ISIS, rose to global prominence in 2014 when it seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate. President Ahmed al-Sharaa took power after Syria's rebels ousted longtime autocratic ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, following a 14-year civil war.
Mass burial sites have been uncovered across northern Syria, holding the remains of people abducted by ISIS since the group lost power between 2017 and was considered defeated by 2019.
The mission, led by Qatar, had found three bodies earlier this week when it launched a search in Syria for the remains of U.S. hostages killed by the Islamic State nearly ten years ago, Reuters reported.
ISIS carried out mass executions, sexual slavery, and public beheadings, systematically targeting Christians and religious minorities. Its campaign extended globally, with some of the deadliest attacks across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. ISIS remains active in some regions.
In 2019, the United States military conducted a special operations raid killing the group's then leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in a mission approved by Trump during his first presidential term.
What Happens Next
The remains discovered during the operation have not yet been identified, and efforts to determine their identities are ongoing.