Travis Timmerman, the missing American who was found imprisoned in Syria, was evacuated to Jordan by the US military after months in Bashar al-Assad’s notorious prisons, according to his family and two military defense officials.
Timmerman, 29, who was jailed for more than half a year in the government prison after traveling to the country “for spiritual purposes” was flown out of the country via a US military chopper, NBC News reported.
The Missouri man was freed by rebel fighters armed with AK-47s on Monday as Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell.
Video of Timmerman posted Thursday by Turkish news agency Anadolu had initially sparked speculation that he could be American journalist Austin Tice, who vanished in 2012 while covering the anti-Assad uprising in Damascus at the beginning of the Syrian civil war.
Timmerman said he was detained seven months ago after entering Syria without permission when he crossed the border from Lebanon.
He had traveled from Europe to Lebanon for “spiritual purposes” — and described himself to NBC News as a religious “pilgrim.”
