Syria frees American citizen

Syria has freed an American citizen missing since 2012 in the war-torn country, the US State Department confirmed today.
"We can confirm and welcome the news that a US citizen was released by Syrian authorities," State Department spokesman John Kirby said without naming the freed hostage.
The Washington Post identified the released man as 33-year-old freelance photographer Kevin Dawes.
The FBI said Dawes travelled to Syria in 2012 from Turkey and had been missing since October that year.
The US has no diplomatic relations with Syria following President Bashar al-Assad's brutal crackdown on opposition protests that sparked a deadly civil war in 2011.

"The United States continues to work through every possible means to ensure the safe release of US citizens reported missing or taken hostage in Syria," Kirby said.
"While privacy considerations prevent us from commenting further, we continue to work through our Czech protecting power in Syria to get information on the welfare and whereabouts of Austin Tice and other US citizens missing and detained in Syria," he said.
Tice is another American photographer who has been missing in Syria since August, 2012.