The US military has airlifted an American citizen from Syria, just days after he was released after months of captivity during the chaotic final days of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Travis Timmerman (29 years old) was handed over to an American garrison in Syria, near the borders with Iraq and Jordan. He is now reportedly in Jordan, where he has met with US State Department officials.
It was found by local residents near Damascus this week after armed men released him with a hammer.
Mystery has swirled around how Timmerman arrived in Syria. The White House says it has no prior indication that he was in Syria or being held in captivity.
Two US government sources told CBS, the BBC's partner in the US, that a US military helicopter transported Timmerman out of the country after Syrian rebels from Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham brought him to US forces in the town of al-Tanf.
According to the Associated Press news agency, he told US officials that he hoped to remain in the Middle East rather than return to the United States.
It is unclear what Timmerman was doing in Syria.
Police in his home state of Missouri, as well as in Hungary, said Timmerman was reported missing in May, after he was last seen in Budapest.
His parents said he disappeared in June.
Timmerman told American media that he was on a religious “pilgrimage” when he crossed the border into Syria from Lebanon.
He told CBS that he was treated well during his time in Syrian captivity. Speaking to NBC News, he said his imprisonment was “a time of solace and reflection, and I am stronger for it.”
Mr Timmerman's family expressed surprise that he was in Syria and said they were glad he was safe.
His cousin Mandy Pendridge told CBS. “It's hard not to think negative thoughts at that time.
“We were kind of thinking that would be the worst outcome for us.”
Speaking to CNN on Friday, his parents said they had no idea how Timmerman got to Syria, although his stepfather suggested he write a book about “ancient churches.”
His mother, Stacey Gardiner, said she thought her son “looked different” and had “been through a lot.”
Another cousin, Miranda Collins, said finding him was “the best Christmas present”.
“For seven months, all we knew was that he was gone,” she said. “We didn't know if he was alive or dead.”
Mr. Timmerman's flight from Jordan comes as American officials and Syrian groups continue to search for Austin Tice, an American freelance journalist who was captured near Damascus in 2012 while covering the country's civil war.
He was last seen in a video, blindfolded and in apparent distress, which was posted online weeks after his arrest. The United States believes he is being held by the Assad regime.
President Joe Biden said The United States believes Mr. Tice is aliveBut his whereabouts are still unknown.