Latest news with #KaylaMueller
Al Arabiya
11-08-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
US congressman discusses with Syrian president return of Kayla Mueller's body if found
US Congressman Abraham Hamadeh made a brief visit to Syria where he discussed with the country's president the return of the body of an American aid worker who was taken hostage and later confirmed dead in the war-torn country, his office said Monday. Hamadeh's visit to Syria comes as a search has been underway in remote parts of the country for the remains of people who were killed by ISIS that once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat six years ago. Kayla Mueller, 26, was captured in northern Syria in August 2013 and her family and US officials confirmed her death more than a year later. Hamadeh, an Arizona Republican, has vowed to return Mueller's body — which has not yet been found — to her family. Hamadeh's office said he was in Syria for six hours to meet President Ahmed al-Sharaa to discuss the return of Mueller's body to her family in Arizona. The statement added that Hamadeh also discussed the need to establish a secure humanitarian corridor for the safe delivery of medical and humanitarian aid to the southern province of Sweida that recently witnessed deadly clashes between pro-government fighters and gunmen from the country's Druze minority. A Syrian government official did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Hamadeh's statement. Dozens of foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were killed by ISIS militants who declared a so-called caliphate in 2014. The militant group lost most of its territory in Iraq in late 2017 and was declared defeated in 2019 when it lost the last sliver of land it controlled in east Syria. 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 Mueller and Peter Kassig are among those killed by ISIS. None of the remains is believed to have been found. Mueller, from Prescott, Arizona, was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Omar Alkhani, after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, where he had been hired to fix the internet service for the hospital. Mueller had begged him to let her tag along because she wanted to do relief work in the war-ravaged country. Alkhani was released after two months, having been beaten. In 2015, the Pentagon said Mueller died at the hands of ISIS and not in a Jordanian airstrike targeting the militant group as the extremists claimed earlier.
Associated Press
11-08-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
US congressman discusses with Syrian president return of body of American killed in Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — U.S. Congressman Abraham Hamadeh made a brief visit to Syria where he discussed with the country's interim president the return of the body of an American aid worker who was taken hostage and later confirmed dead in the war-torn country, his office said Monday. Hamadeh's visit to Syria comes as a search has been underway in remote parts of the country for the remains of people who were killed by the Islamic State group that once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat six years ago. Kayla Mueller, 26, was captured in northern Syria in August 2013 and her family and U.S. officials confirmed her death more than a year later. Hamadeh, an Arizona Republican, has vowed to return Mueller's body — which has not yet been found — to her family. Hamadeh's office said he was in Syria for six hours to meet President Ahmad al-Sharaa to discuss the return of Mueller's body to her family in Arizona. The statement added that Hamadeh also discussed the need to establish a secure humanitarian corridor for the safe delivery of medical and humanitarian aid to the southern province of Sweida that recently witnessed deadly clashes between pro-government fighters and gunmen from the country's Druze minority. A Syrian government official did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Hamadeh's statement. Dozens of foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were killed by IS militants who declared a so-called caliphate in 2014. The militant group lost most of its territory in Iraq in late 2017 and was declared defeated in 2019 when it lost the last sliver of land it controlled in east Syria. Since then, dozens of gravesites and mass graves have been discovered in northern Syria containing remains and bodies of people IS had abducted over the years. American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as humanitarian workers Mueller and Peter Kassig are among those killed by IS. None of the remains is believed to have been found. Mueller, from Prescott, Arizona, was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Omar Alkhani, after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, where he had been hired to fix the internet service for the hospital. Mueller had begged him to let her tag along because she wanted to do relief work in the war-ravaged country. Alkhani was released after two months, having been beaten. In 2015, the Pentagon said Mueller died at the hands of IS and not in a Jordanian airstrike targeting the militant group as the extremists claimed earlier. ____ Mroue reported from Beirut.
Arab News
11-08-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
US congressman discusses with Syrian president return of body of American killed in Syria
DAMASCUS: US Congressman Abraham Hamadeh made a brief visit to Syria where he discussed with the country's interim president the return of the body of an American aid worker who was taken hostage and later confirmed dead in the war-torn country, his office said Monday. Hamadeh's visit to Syria comes as a search has been underway in remote parts of the country for the remains of people who were killed by the Daesh group that once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq before its territorial defeat six years ago. Kayla Mueller, 26, was captured in northern Syria in August 2013 and her family and US officials confirmed her death more than a year later. Hamadeh, an Arizona Republican, has vowed to return Mueller's body — which has not yet been found — to her family. Hamadeh's office said he was in Syria for six hours to meet President Ahmad Al-Sharaa to discuss the return of Mueller's body to her family in Arizona. The statement added that Hamadeh also discussed the need to establish a secure humanitarian corridor for the safe delivery of medical and humanitarian aid to the southern province of Sweida that recently witnessed deadly clashes between pro-government fighters and gunmen from the country's Druze minority. A Syrian government official did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Hamadeh's statement. Dozens of foreigners, including aid workers and journalists, were killed by IS militants who declared a so-called caliphate in 2014. The militant group lost most of its territory in Iraq in late 2017 and was declared defeated in 2019 when it lost the last sliver of land it controlled in east Syria. Since then, dozens of gravesites and mass graves have been discovered in northern Syria containing remains and bodies of people IS had abducted over the years. American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as humanitarian workers Mueller and Peter Kassig are among those killed by IS. None of the remains is believed to have been found. Mueller, from Prescott, Arizona, was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Omar Alkhani, after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, where he had been hired to fix the Internet service for the hospital. Mueller had begged him to let her tag along because she wanted to do relief work in the war-ravaged country. Alkhani was released after two months, having been beaten. In 2015, the Pentagon said Mueller died at the hands of IS and not in a Jordanian airstrike targeting the militant group as the extremists claimed earlier.
Kuwait Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Syria agrees to help locate missing Americans: US envoy
DAMASCUS: Syria's new authorities have agreed to help the United States locate and return Americans who went missing in the country, a US envoy said on Sunday, in another sign of thawing bilateral ties. The announcement came a day after the United States formally lifted sanctions on Syria, ending more than a decade of diplomatic freeze. Relations have steadily improved since former president Bashar Al-Assad was overthrown last December. 'The new Syrian government has agreed to assist the USA in locating and returning USA citizens or their remains,' US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack wrote on X, describing it as a 'powerful step forward'. 'The families of Austin Tice, Majd Kamalmaz, and Kayla Mueller must have closure,' he added, referring to American citizens who had gone missing or been killed during Syria's devastating civil war that erupted in 2011. Tice was working as a freelance journalist for Agence France-Presse, The Washington Post, and other outlets when he was detained at a checkpoint in August 2012. Kamalmaz, a Syrian-American psychotherapist, was believed to have died after being detained under the Assad government in 2017. Mueller was an aid worker kidnapped by the Islamic State group, which announced her death in February 2015, saying she was killed in a Jordanian air strike, a claim disputed by US authorities. 'President (Donald) Trump has made it clear that bringing home USA citizens or honoring, with dignity, their remains is a major priority everywhere,' said Barrack, who also serves as the US ambassador to Turkey. 'The new Syrian Government will aid us in this commitment,' he added. Americans killed by IS A Syrian source aware of the talks between the two countries told AFP there were 11 other names on Washington's list, all of them Syrian-Americans. The source added that a Qatari delegation began this month, at Washington's request, a search mission for the remains of American hostages killed by IS. Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights meanwhile said that 'the Qatari delegation is still searching in Aleppo province for the bodies of American citizens executed by IS'. Two US journalists, James Foley and Stephen Sotloff, were videotaped in 2014 being beheaded by a militant who spoke on camera with a British accent. El Shafee Elsheikh, a jihadist from London, was found guilty in 2022 of hostage-taking and conspiracy to murder US citizens — Foley and Sotloff, as well as aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller. The formal lifting of US sanctions also coincided with Syria's new authorities reshuffling their interior ministry to include fighting cross-border drug and people smuggling, as they seek to improve ties with the West. The lifting of sanctions paves the way for reconstruction efforts in the war-torn country, where authorities are relying on foreign assistance to help foot the enormous cost of rebuilding. The sanctions relief is on condition that Syria does not provide a safe haven for terrorist organizations and ensures security for religious and ethnic minorities, the US Treasury Department said. Trump shook hands with Syria's jihadist-turned-interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa earlier this month during a visit to Saudi Arabia. Al-Sharaa in Turkey Barrack's statement comes a day after he met Al-Sharaa, in Istanbul, during his third visit to Turkey since the fall of Al-Assad. The Syrian presidency said on Sunday that Al-Sharaa and his accompanying delegation met with Turkish officials in Ankara, including Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and financial officials. Yilmaz said in a statement that they discussed 'deepening our economic cooperation in the new period', adding that his country will 'continue to provide all kinds of support to the Syrian people in their peace, development and reconstruction process'. As part of Syria's efforts to strengthen its institutions, the interior ministry appointed new security chiefs in 12 provinces on Sunday. It did not say how the chiefs were chosen nor did it share much information about them, but the list includes former security officials in Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, the Al-Sharaa-led group that spearheaded the December offensive. The new authorities faced criticism when military appointments in December included six foreign fighters. After meeting Al-Sharaa in Riyadh this month, US President Donald Trump demanded that 'foreign terrorists' leave Syria. Damascus had previously told Washington in a letter that it would 'freeze the promotions of foreign fighters' and form a committee to review previous promotions, according to a Syrian source with knowledge of the letter. The source requested anonymity as they were not allowed to brief the media on the topic. — AFP
CBS News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Syria agrees to help find missing Americans, U.S. envoy says
The new Syrian government has agreed to help the United States locate and return Americans who went missing in the war-ravaged country, the U.S. special envoy to Syria said on Sunday, in another sign of thawing bilateral ties between the two countries. Thomas Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey who was also appointed as special envoy for Syria, described in a post on X that it was a "power step forward" between the two nations. "The families of Austin Tice, Majd Kamalmaz, and Kayla Mueller must have closure," he added, referring to American citizens who had gone missing or been killed in Syria during the devastating civil war that erupted in 2011. "President Trump has made it clear that bringing home USA citizens or honoring, with dignity, their remains is a major priority everywhere," Barrack said. "The new Syrian Government will aid us in this commitment." A Syrian source with knowledge of the talks between the two countries told AFP that there were 11 other names on Washington's list of missing Americans. All of them are Syrian American. Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa (C) meets the U.S. Ambassador Thomas Barrack, Jr. (L) in Istanbul, Turkiye on May 24, 2025. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani (R) also attended. Turkish Foreign Ministry / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images The announcement comes after Barrack met with Syria's president and foreign minister during their visit to Turkey on Saturday. It also comes as relations between the two nations have steadily improved since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December. On Friday, the Trump administration granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions in a major first step toward fulfilling the president's pledge to lift a half-century of penalties on a country shattered by 14 years of civil war. In a statement on Saturday, Barrack said Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa welcomed Washington's "fast action on lifting sanctions." "President Trump's goal is to enable the new government to create the conditions for the Syrian people to not only survive but thrive," Barrack said in a statement. Barrack said he stressed that the cessation of sanctions against Syria will preserve the integrity "of our primary objective — the enduring defeat of" the Islamic State group, also known as IS or ISIS. He added that it will give Syrians a chance for a better future. "I also commended President al-Sharaa on taking meaningful steps towards enacting President Trump's points on foreign terrorist fighters, counter-ISIS measures, relations with Israel, and camps and detention centers in Northeast Syria," Barrack said. He was referring to detention centers where thousands of ISIS members are held and two camps where their families stay in areas currently controlled by the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The congressional sanctions, known as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, had aimed to isolate Syria's previous rulers by effectively expelling those doing business with them from the global financial system. They specifically block postwar reconstruction, so while they can be waived for 180 days by executive order, investors are likely to be wary of reconstruction projects when sanctions could be reinstated after six months. Mr. Trump said during a visit to the region earlier this month that the U.S. would roll back the heavy financial penalties in a bid to give the interim government a better chance of survival. contributed to this report.
