Ex-Syrian commander claims Assad ordered execution of missing US journalist Tice: BBC

LONDON: A former Syrian commander who allegedly oversaw the detention of missing American journalist Austin Tice claims that ex-President Bashar Assad personally ordered Tice’s execution, according to a BBC investigation released over the weekend. The report centers on Maj. Gen. Bassam al-Hassan, a former commander in the elite Republican Guard and one of Assad’s most trusted advisers. According to the BBC, Hassan spoke to FBI and CIA officials about Tice’s fate during at least three meetings in Lebanon, one of which reportedly took place inside the US embassy compound.

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