American held in Syria freed

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

An American held hostage in Syria by an al-Qaida-linked group has been released after about two years, the Obama administration and a relative confirmed Sunday, days after militants had beheaded a U.S. journalist abducted while covering that country's civil war.

The U.S. identified the freed American as Peter Theo Curtis of Massachusetts and said he now was safe and outside of Syria. The United Nations said it helped with the handover to U.N. peacekeepers in a village in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and that Curtis was released to American authorities after a medical checkup.

The administration provided no details about the circumstances of his abduction or his release. It was not known what prompted Curtis' release.

A cousin of Curtis', Viva Hardigg, declined to provide details on the circumstances of his release, but said that he had been held by the Nusra Front, which is al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria.

"He seems to be in good health," Hardigg told The Associated Press. "We are deeply relieved and grateful for his return and the many people who have helped up secure his freedom. At the same time, we are thinking constantly of the other hostages who are still held and those working to help them be freed. We want to do everything we can to support their efforts."