US journalist 'freed' in Syria

The Qatari-owned television station Al Jazeera reported on Sunday that Curtis had been handed over to a United Nations representative.

US National Security Adviser Susan Rice confirmed Curtis was safe and outside of Syria. According to Secretary of State John Kerry, Curtis was held by an al Qaeda-linked militant group fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The US administration didn't reveal details about the circumstances of Curtis' abduction or his release.

"Just as we celebrate Theo's freedom, we hold in our thoughts and prayers the Americans who remain in captivity in Syria," said Rice on Sunday.

On June 30, the journalist had appeared in a pre-recorded video reading a prepared script, saying he was a journalist from Boston and was first abducted in Antakya, Turkey. The video was apparently released by his kidnappers.

The news of Curtis' reported release comes days after the 'Islamic State' (IS) militant group active in Syria and Iraq issued a video of American journalist James Foley's beheading. Peter Westmacott, the British ambassador to the United States, told CNN on Sunday that the police and intelligence officials were close to identifying a suspected British national shown beheading Foley in the video.

According to the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists, more then 80 journalists have been kidnapped in Syria and about 20 are still missing. Many of them are believed to be in IS captivity.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders says that three foreign journalists are still being held hostage in Syria, alongside some 50 Syrian professional or citizen journalists, either by Islamist militants or Assad's regime.

shs/rc (Reuters, dpa)