US forces fly missing American Travis Timmerman out of Syria: Reports

United States officials on Friday told multiple news outlets that missing American Travis Timmerman was released by Syrian officials to U.S. forces and has been flown to Jordan.

The rescue comes after Islamist rebels stormed the Syrian capital of Damascus last weekend and took control of the country's government. The new regime is considered by many to be a step up from former dictator Bashar Assad.

One U.S. official told The Hill that U.S. Central Command is working with the State Department to get Timmerman back home. Timmerman went missing in Budapest, Hungary, in May, but was later found in a Syrian jail.

Timmerman said he was not beaten by Syrian officials but was taken to a jail after he entered the country on foot without a visa. The American claimed he had been on a Christian pilgrimage at the time, and decided to cross from Lebanon into Syria, per NBC News.

"I was in prison for seven months," Timmerman told the outlet. "But it's been OK. I am on a pilgrimage and that's when I was arrested. ... Then I was just held in prison. I wasn't beaten or anything like that."

Timmerman's release comes as American forces rush to find American journalist and former Marine Austin Tice, who has been missing since 2012. The new Syrian government has offered to help the U.S. find Tice, according to the Washington Post.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.