Travis Timmerman: Syrian rebels deliver American to US military post, photos show

Abbie Cheeseman, John Hudson, Missy Ryan, Michael Birnbaum

The Washington Post

3 Min Read

2 hours ago

Syrian rebels escorted American Travis Timmerman, centre, to a U.S. military outpost near Jordan's border on Friday. Credit: Syrian Emergency Task Force/Syrian Emergency Task Force

An American citizen jailed in Syria was handed to the US government and taken to Jordan on Friday, US and Syrian officials said, after he was freed during the chaotic collapse of the Assad regime.

Travis Timmerman was found on the outskirts of Damascus on Thursday after a seven-month detention in a prison controlled by the government of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose flight from Syria this month marked a dramatic end to his family’s decades of authoritarian rule.

On Friday, the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is leading an interim governing structure after its successful military charge on Damascus, said they handed Timmerman to a U.S. military garrison in southeastern Syria.

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A US defence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, said Mr Timmerman was transferred to the US military and taken by military aircraft to Jordan.

The handover, mediated by the US-based Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), appeared to be an initial instance of direct contact between U.S. personnel and the Syrian rebels who took power this month. The US government considers the rebel group a terrorist organisation.

SETF shared photos of the handover with The Washington Post.

In the photos, Mr Timmerman is seen standing between an HTS representative and an American military officer at the Tanf garrison, near Syria’s border with Jordan and Iraq.

HTS’s Political Affairs Department, in a statement released Friday, said it had “supervised” Mr Timmerman’s handover.

The group, which is pushing for international legitimacy, has said it is seeking to work with the United States to secure the release of all Americans detained by the Assad regime. That includes American journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012.

The incident illustrates how the chaos after Assad’s ouster is touching nations far beyond the Middle East. It also underscores the uncomfortable realities Washington must confront as it seeks to support Syria’s transition to a more stable future while also proceeding cautiously in engaging a group with deep extremist roots.

Mr Timmerman, who is from Missouri, has told journalists he had crossed into Syria this year from neighbouring Lebanon, was apprehended near the border and taken to a Damascus prison.

He described his travels as “a pilgrimage” intended for “spiritual purposes.”

The FBI has informed Mr Timmerman’s parents that he is in “government hands” and is “safe,” Mr Timmerman’s stepfather, Richard Gardiner, told The Post on Friday.

“Just to see him alive yesterday was awesome,” said Mr Gardiner, referring to TV interviews with Mr Timmerman aired on Thursday.

“I’ve been a nervous wreck,” said Mr Timmerman’s mother, Stacey Gardiner.

“My nerves are driving me crazy. I’m hoping he’ll be home tomorrow, but I don’t know how long it will take.”

Mr Timmerman’s parents said they do not know what the next steps will be for reuniting with their son in the United States.

The US military originally established a presence at Tanf as part of an effort to train Syrian forces to battle the Islamic State. But the mission at the dusty, isolated base eventually morphed into a key part of the US effort to block Iran’s deepening influence across Syria and the Middle East.

American forces there have clashed repeatedly over the years with adversary forces mostly affiliated with Iran.

American officials think the US presence at the facility, perched on a dusty highway that could link Tehran to its clients in Damascus, has been effective in halting Tehran from consolidating an effective “land bridge” to funnel weapons and other resources to its allies across the Middle East.

American forces there have clashed repeatedly over the years with adversary forces, mostly affiliated with Iran, who have pressed within a US-established 30-mile air and ground exclusion zone.

US forces have also used the base, which has typically been manned by a force of several hundred US troops, as a site for training local Syrian partners and protecting a nearby refugee camp.