The U.S. military has freed an American from Syria who disappeared seven months ago in former President Bashar Assad’s notorious prison system and was one of thousands released by rebels this week, a U.S. official said Friday.
Travis Timmerman, 29, was flown out of Syria on a U.S. military helicopter, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing operation.
It’s unclear where Timmerman might go next. After being rescued, he thanked his rescuers for freeing him but told U.S. officials he wanted to stay in the area, another person familiar with the matter said, not authorized to comment publicly.
Timmerman was arrested in June after crossing into Syria on a Christian pilgrimage from the mountains of the eastern Lebanese city of Jahle.
He told The Associated Press that he was not mistreated while in a notorious detention facility run by the Palestinian branch, Syrian intelligence.
In his jail cell, Timmerman said, he had a mattress, a plastic drinking container and two others for garbage.
He said Friday prayers helped keep track of the days.
Timmerman said he was released early Monday along with a young Syrian man and 70 female prisoners, some of whom were their children, after rebels seized control of Damascus and forced Assad from power in a dramatic upheaval.
He said that “the liberators came to the prison and knocked on the door (of his cell) with a hammer.” He was held separately from Syrian and other Arab prisoners and said he was not aware of other Americans held at the facility.
Timmerman is from Urbana, Missouri, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Springfield in the southwestern part of the state. He earned a finance degree from Missouri State University in 2017.
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