US: Missing American believed held by Syria regime

[NewsCaster]

James Lawler Duggan / AFP - Getty Images, fileFreelance photographer Austin Tice, seen in this July 2012 picture taken at an undisclosed location, has been missing since Aug. 13.By Alastair Jamieson, NBC NewsThe U.S. believes missing American journalist Austin Tice is in the hands of the Syrian government, a State Department spokeswoman said, after a YouTube emerged purporting to show him at the hands of his captors.

Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Monday that the State Department was unable to verify the accuracy of the video, which appears to shows Tice with masked men that one expert described as a "caricature of a jihadi group."

Nuland said that the video “may have been staged” and added, “There’s a lot of reason for the Syrian Government to duck responsibility, but we continue to believe that, to the best of our knowledge, we think he is in Syrian Government custody."

NBCNews