Assad adviser claims US journalist Austin Tice was executed in Syria: Report

An American journalist missing in Syria for nearly 13 years was executed on orders by then-President Bashar al-Assad

That's according to a man accused of overseeing Austin Tice's captivity. The claim first reported by the BBC Sunday

Major General Bassam al-Hassan, a former commander in Syria's elite Republican Guard and top advisor to Assad

claims the order to kill Tice came directly from the former president

Al-Hassan also served as chief of staff of the National Defense Forces

a military group the BBC says imprisoned Tice after his abduction in 2012

The claim is part of an upcoming BBC radio podcast on the disappearance and potential death of the U.S. journalist

Tice was captured near the Syrian capital in August of 2012, shortly after his 31st birthday

He was working as a freelance journalist and preparing to leave Syria when he was taken

allegedly by members of Assad regime which has long denied any knowledge of his whereabouts But the BBC investigation found Tice was held in a military facility in Damascus overseen by al The BBC reports al met multiple times this year with U intelligence officials including once at the U embassy

During those meetings, sources say he told CIA and FBI agents that Assad personally ordered Tice's execution

and that he tried to intervene but ultimately carried it out. Western intelligence officials tell the BBC they're skeptical of al-Hassan's claims

noting Assad typically avoided giving direct execution orders to maintain plausible deniability

U.S. officials have not confirmed the claims, and the investigation is still active

The BBC followed Tice's mother, Deborah, as she traveled to Beirut ahead of the 13th anniversary of her son's abduction

She does not believe al-Hassan's account. She accuses him of telling the FBI a story that they wanted to hear

She believes her son is still alive and will walk free someday. For more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or go to san.com