US man missing in Syria revealed as dead
A US man who went missing while travelling in Syria in 2017 is now dead, according to Asharq Al-Awsat and agencies on May 18th.
A psychotherapist from Texas, Majd Kamalmaz went missing in Syria in February 2017 while travelling through a Syrian-government controlled checkpoint in Damascus.
The 59-year-old was reportedly travelling to visit an elderly relative.
His daughter, Maryam Kamalmaz, revealed in mid-May that, during a meeting with US officials, extensive US intelligence revealed her father as dead.
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“What more do I need? That was a lot of high-level officials that we needed to confirm to us that he’s really gone. There was no way to beat around the bush,” she said.
“Not until this meeting did they really confirm to us how credible the information is and the different levels of (verification) it had to go through” she added.
Officials reportedly believe Majd died in the initial stage of his detainment in 2017.
The father is among several other Americans – including journalist Austin Tice – who have vanished in Syria during the civil war.
Tice also went missing at a checkpoint based in a contested area of Damascus.
A video clip taken shortly after Tice’s arrest shows him blindfolded. US intelligence believes the journalist to still be alive, allegedly held captive by Syrian government forces.
Despite Syria denying the detainment of American citizens, senior US officials visited Damascus in 2020 to secure their release.
The talks failed due to lack of proof-of-life and what US officials deemed were unreasonable demands from the Syrian government.
The US has said it is still trying to rescue Tice.
Asharq Al-Awsat / Agencies
