American killed in Syria amid growing sectarian violence, State Department says
The U.S. State Department confirmed on Tuesday that a U.S. citizen was killed in Syria after disturbing videos surfaced showing him among a group of men apparently being executed by Syrian government forces.
"We offer condolences to the family on their loss and are providing consular assistance to them," the State Department said in a statement. "We are greatly concerned when any U.S. citizen is harmed overseas, wherever they are. The United States calls for accountability in all cases where U.S. citizens are harmed abroad."
Family and friends confirmed to ABC News that one of the men executed was Hosam Saraya, an American citizen.
The confirmation came after videos shared on social media last week showed eight men kneeling next to each other in civilian clothes, with a group of soldiers filming. In one video, the soldiers are seen talking to each other. Then, without warning, they open fire, shooting the unarmed, kneeling men dozens of times at close range.
The videos were filmed in Tishreen Square, in southern Syria, on the afternoon of July 16 amid ongoing fighting there.
ABC News has spoken to friends and family of Hosam Saraya, a American-Syrian citizen, and confirmed that he and other relatives were among those seen in the video being gunned down.
Besides Saraya, the family said his brother, Karim, their father, Ghassan, and their uncles and cousins were also shot to death in the incident.
The family showed ABC News Saraya's American passport, confirming his U.S. citizenship.
The State Department is "looking into accounts of the death of an individual reported to have been a U.S. citizen in Syria,” a spokesperson said.
The Saraya family are Druze, the largest ethnic group in the city but a minority in Syria. Sectarian clashes broke last week between government forces and Druze, Sunni Bedouins and other Sunni factions.
A close friend of the Sarayas who worked with Hosam told ABC News that he spoke with Hosam and his relatives last Tuesday night and that they told him bombs had been falling around their home. On Wednesday, the friend, who only wants to be identified as Omar, heard from other family members that Hosam and the others had been taken from their home by government forces.
Saraya's mother was left in their ransacked home, Omar said.
