ALBAWABA - Local media in Syria confirmed that an American citizen was captured and killed amid the latest unrest and violence in the southern Syrian city of Sweida.
According to CNN Arabic, an Oklahoma-based citizen was among eight family members, all men, who were captured and killed in an execution-style attack in Sweida city last week.
American citizen killed in Sweida violence, who is he?
Hosam Saraya, 35, is a Syrian-Druze American citizen. He was identified by his friend, Bahaa Imad and an American relative as one of eight men whose execution was captured on video that circulated on social media over the weekend, sparking anger about the silence of the American government over his death.
A photo of Hosam Saraya's American passport. (X)
A video captured the moment of Hosam Saraya's death showed a group of armed men wearing military uniforms and face masks shooting eight people while chanting "Allah Akbar" (God is Great).
The American citizen, who studied in Oklahoma, was a member of the Druze community, according to his American relative, who said he returned to Syria to look after his father. She added that the armed men killed all men members of Hosam Saraya's family and left their wives and children.
Imad said his relatives later told him that the prisoners were taken 200 meters to Tishreen Square in central Sweida, where they were lined up and executed. One of the men sent a final message to his friends: "Come and help us if you can. They have surrounded us," Imad said.
