A Qatari team has begun efforts to recover the bodies of American hostages killed by the terrorist group ISIS in Syria about ten years ago. Between 2014 and 2017, when ISIS was at its strongest, parts of Syria and Iraq were under the group’s control. During this period, ISIS brutally killed many hostages and released videos showing these scenes. Among those taken hostage by the group were also captives from Western countries.
The Qatari group has reportedly begun the work of recovering the bodies with some American involvement. Sources say the group has so far found the bodies of three people, but it has not yet been confirmed if these are the bodies of American hostages. It is also unclear how long the search efforts will continue.
The US State Department has not yet commented on this work. The Qatari group’s efforts to recover the bodies of American citizens come as US President Donald Trump prepares to visit some Gulf countries, including Qatar, next week. At this time, Syria’s new transitional government, which has close ties to Qatar, is working to ease sanctions imposed by the US against the country. According to a Syrian source, the Qatari team is first working to find the body of Peter Kassig, an American citizen who was involved in humanitarian aid work. He was brutally killed in Dabiq, an area in northern Syria, in 2014.
In addition, American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were also killed by ISIS. Their deaths were confirmed in 2014. Kayla Mueller, an American citizen involved in humanitarian aid work, was also killed by the group. Her death was confirmed in 2015. Finding the bodies of American citizens killed by ISIS has been promised by various US administrations in recent years. Previously, the US has made many efforts to find their bodies. As part of this work, US, US government officials operating in Syria have reportedly searched specific areas of the country. It is believed that the bodies of Kassig, Sotloff, and Foley are in one area of Syria. However, Mueller was reportedly held captive in Iraq.
