Syria regime release American captive after Lebanese mediation

Lebanon has helped secure the release of an American captive being held in Syria, it was reported on Friday, although the identity of the person has not been revealed.

Lebanon's security chief Abbas Ibrahim held talks with the regime to help free the captive, who has now been reunited with his family in Lebanon, according to Reuters.

"Lebanon has worked on mediating through General Abbas Ibrahim to release an American and he was handed over to his family already. The American is not Tice because it is not known where he is," the security official said.

Austin Tice, an American journalist reporting from the Damascus' suburb of Daraya, went missing in Syria in 2012 and is believed by US authorities to have been detained by the regime.

Another American, Majd Kamalmaz, went missing after being picked up from a regime checkpoint in Damascus two years ago.

In 2016, the Syrian regime released US photojournalist Kevin Patrick Dawes, who had been held since 2012.

Journalist Josie Ensor tweeted that the person who was released was detained in the northern Syrian city of Qamishli, which is split between regime and Kurdish-led control.

"Can confirm it's an American tourist who was kidnapped by regime forces in Rojava in May. Be extra careful in Qamishli, kids," she tweeted.

"He was trying to check off every country in the world, but couldn't get a visa for Syria. He is understood to have wandered into a regime checkpoint in Qamishli."