Six Americans killed in Syria, five disappeared since 2011: report

At least six US civilians have been killed in Syria since the outbreak of the uprising in March 2011, and five more remain forcibly disappeared, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR).

Speaking to The New Arab's Arabic language edition, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, SNHR Director Fadel Abdul Ghany confirmed that these deaths and disappearances occurred at the hands of various warring parties and controlling forces in Syria.

Among the dead is one woman, while the list of those still missing includes another female American citizen.

According to Abdul Ghany, responsibility for the killings is split evenly between the Syrian regime and the Islamic State group (IS).

"The regime is responsible for the deaths of three American civilians, including a woman who died under torture and a journalist," he said. "IS is implicated in the killings of three others - two journalists and one individual working in the medical and humanitarian sectors," he said.

On the issue of enforced disappearances, Abdul Ghany stated that former Syrian regime forces are responsible for four of the five documented cases. The fifth case is believed to involve another, as yet unidentified, party.

The revelation comes as new efforts to locate the remains of American hostages executed by IS gain momentum. On Saturday, Reuters reported that a Qatari-led mission had recently launched a recovery operation in Syria targeting burial sites linked to the group.

According to two informed sources, the Qatari International Search and Rescue Group began operations last Wednesday, working alongside American personnel. The team - previously active in earthquake relief missions in Morocco and Turkey - has reportedly uncovered the remains of three individuals so far. Their identities have yet to be confirmed.

it has since been reported the remains of 30 people believed to have been killed by ISIS have been found in a remote Syrian town by Qatari search teams and the FBI, according to a statement from Qatar on Monday.

The Qatari internal security forces said the FBI had requested the search, and that DNA tests are currently underway to determine the identities of the people. The Qatari agency did not whom the American intelligence and security agency is trying to find

One of the sources, a Syrian security official, said the current search is focused on locating the remains of Peter Kassig, an American aid worker who was executed by IS in the town of Dabiq, in northern Syria, in 2014.

The second source confirmed Kassig was among those the mission hopes to recover.

While the US State Department has not issued an official statement on the recovery effort, the Kassig family released a message expressing hope and appreciation.

"We are awaiting the results of the analyses that will confirm the identities," the family said. "We express our gratitude to all those participating in the efforts to identify and return the remains of these deceased individuals to their homelands and loved ones."

Among the most widely known American victims of ISIS are journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, whose deaths were confirmed in 2014 after being held hostage and subsequently executed in Syria.

The ongoing discoveries shed new light on the long shadow cast by the Syrian conflict on foreign nationals, particularly humanitarian workers and journalists, and underscore the enduring challenges of accountability and closure for the families of the disappeared.