Remains Of 30 Found In Syria During Joint Qatar-FBI Search Operation

In a joint operation of Qatar and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the remains of 30 individuals believed to have been killed by the Islamic State (IS) group were recovered in northern Syria. The operation was conducted in Dabiq, a town near the Syrian border with Turkiye, according to a statement by Qatar라이브 바카라 internal security forces.

As reported by The Washington Post, the search was initiated at the request of the FBI. DNA testing is currently being carried out to determine the identities of the individuals. The statement did not specify which individuals or nationalities were being sought.

The operation is part of broader efforts to locate individuals who went missing during IS라이브 바카라 control of territories in Syria and Iraq from 2014 to 2019. During this time, the group abducted and killed numerous foreign nationals, including journalists and aid workers. IS lost most of its territory by late 2017 and was officially declared defeated in 2019.

Documented IS victims include American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig, and two Japanese nationals. British journalist John Cantlie, who was abducted in 2012, was last seen in IS videos released in 2016. Between 2014 and 2015, the group released execution videos featuring a masked man identified as Mohammed Emwazi, also known as “Jihadi John,” a British national of Kuwaiti origin. Emwazi was killed in a U.S.-UK drone strike in November 2015.

According to CBS News, multiple mass graves have been discovered in areas formerly controlled by IS, containing the remains of individuals abducted by the group.

Mass graves have also been found in territories previously under the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Assad, whose government had been accused of detaining and disappearing thousands of people, was removed from power during an insurgency in December 2024.

One of the unresolved cases involves American journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in 2012 in western Syria. A video released soon after showed him in captivity. According to The New York Times, the U.S. government stated in December 2024 that Tice is still believed to be alive, although no direct evidence has been found. U.S. officials previously believed he was held by the Assad regime.

In 2021, the United Nations estimated that over 130,000 people had been detained or forcibly disappeared in Syria since the start of the 2011 uprising.