# Assad regime planned US journalist’s kidnapping for weeks, BBC finds

https://mins.news/en/item/62089

- BBC News, 2026-09-17 05:00 UTC
- World
- Original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv0lrxw6ygl2o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

> A BBC investigation says the kidnapping of US journalist Austin Tice in Syria in 2012 was planned for more than a month rather than being an opportunistic abduction. A former member of the group that detained him claims Bashar al-Assad approved the operation. Secret Syrian intelligence files provide definitive evidence that the regime held Tice, while claims that he was executed remain disputed and no remains have been found.