The US group is determined to find the kidnapped Americans in Syria, even after the fall of the Assad regime, and will leave no stone unturned in their search.

In the aftermath of the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, a U.S. nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. is on the ground in Syria searching for kidnapped Americans.

In an interview with Planet Chronicle Digital from Damascus, Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), revealed that he and six team members arrived in the capital on Wednesday to search for Americans who were kidnapped or held captive by the former Assad regime, including Austin Tice, an American freelance journalist, and Dr. Majd Kamalmaz, a Syrian American psychotherapist.

""God willing, we can find and bring home Tice, as well as Majd and the other Americans whose names are not public," Moustafa stated."

In 2012, Tice, who had traveled to Syria during the start of its civil war, was kidnapped while reporting in Daraya, a Damascus suburb. He was later seen on a video released months after his capture, wearing a black blindfold and being led away by a group of men shouting "Allahu Akbar."

Since Tice was last seen or heard from, the Syrian government has consistently denied any involvement in his disappearance.

In February 2017, while visiting a family member in Damascus, Kamalmaz, a U.S. citizen who helped survivors of Hurricane Katrina and refugees from war-torn Syria and Kosovo recover from trauma and PTSD, was detained at a government checkpoint.

Earlier this year, the Kamalmaz family received classified information from U.S. officials, stating that they believe the humanitarian perished in Syria's infamous prison system.

Dr. Kamalmaz likely died within a year or two of his detainment, according to his daughter Maryam, who spoke to Planet Chronicle Digital in June. Officials did not disclose the cause or location of his death.

Moustafa stated that he would not leave any stone unturned while he was in Damascus and hoped to find them.

The SETF leader has received information from various sources and has sent his team to specific locations to search for Tice.

With the liberation of Damascus, there are no limitations on our movement. We can travel anywhere.

Tice was commended by Moustafa for his courage and for journeying to Syria to document the country's devastating civil war and the struggles of its citizens during the initial stages of the conflict.

We could only search for him through calling people and trying to find those who had been released from detention, as he told Planet Chronicle Digital.

Earlier this year, Joel Rayburn, the former U.S. special envoy for Syria, stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that the ousted Assad regime considered Tice and other detainees as "cards" to be used as leverage to obtain concessions.

Rayburn stated that it is almost certain that they have those people in their custody, or they've had them in their custody, or they know what happened to them, but they are not forthcoming.

The State Department has set a reward of up to $10 million for information on Tice and has communicated to HTS that finding the journalist is a top priority.

Our top priority in all communications with parties we know who talk to HTS is the return of Austin Tice as they move through Syria and liberate prisons, stated State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

The journalist, who is from Syria, claims he was imprisoned by the Assad regime and was detained in a Damascus jail in the Kafr Sousa neighborhood with Tice until as recently as 2022, according to a report from The Sunday Times.

Moustafa informed Planet Chronicle Digital that he was aware of the article and intended to visit the location to gather more details in the near future.

"Every Syrian must do everything they can to bring Austin back to his mother, father, country, and home," he stated.