(Image source: YouTube / khalidfree75 )

 

 

BY ZACH TOOMBS

 

 

Video of American journalist Austin Tice surfaced online Monday, showing the 31-year-old former Marine captured, blindfolded and dragged through a desert by a group of masked men.

 

VARIOUS CAPTORS: “Allahu al-Akbar. Allahu al-Akbar. Allahu al-Akbar.”

TICE: “Oh Jesus. Oh Jesus.”

 

Tice disappeared in Syria in August — though his family confirmed the man in the video is almost certainly him. The freelance journalist’s byline showed up in The Washington Post and other McClatchy newspapers while he reported on the Syrian civil war.

 

The 47-second video showed up on a Facebook page for supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday. Although it at first seems to be the work of extremists, and not pro-Assad military forces, experts say the video is more likely an attempt by the Syrian government to convince the U.S. that Islamic extremist groups such as Al Qaeda are involved in the Syrian conflict.

 

Joseph Holliday, an expert on Syrian rebel groups, told The Washington Post his gut instinct is that Assad security forces...

 

“...dressed up like a bunch of wahoos and dragged him around and released the video to scare the U.S. and others about the danger of al-Qaeda extremists in Syria. It would fit their narrative perfectly.”

 

And David Kirkpatrick of The New York Times writes:

 

“The captors are dressed in freshly pressed Afghan dress never seen before among Syrian rebels. And it was unusual for Islamist militants to force Mr. Tice, a non-Muslim, to recite a Muslim prayer for a video.”

 

The U.S. State Department also cried farce Monday, with spokeswoman Victoria Nuland saying:


"There's a lot of reason for the Syrian government to duck responsibility, but we continue to believe, to the best of our knowledge, that he's in Syrian government custody."

 

Tice’s parents released a statement of their own, saying that, although it’s difficult to see their son in such a setting, it is reassuring that he appears otherwise unharmed.