BBC Investigation Shows Syria Planned Kidnap of US Journalist Austin Tice

A new BBC investigation reveals that the regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad planned the kidnapping of American journalist Austin Tice weeks before he went missing. Tice disappeared in Syria in August 2012 after working as a freelance reporter for outlets including McClatchy and The Washington Post. The findings show that state security forces tracked his movements and prepared to take him into custody well before he was stopped at a checkpoint near Damascus. The documentary evidence uncovered by the BBC provides the clearest picture yet of state involvement in his abduction. Despite years of public denials by Syrian officials, the newly surfaced records indicate a deliberate government operation targeted the reporter.