nytimes
DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

TRIPOLI, Libya — A Web site that sascii117pports the Syrian government pascii117blicized a video clip on Monday that showed Aascii117stin Tice, an American freelance joascii117rnalist, to be alive bascii117t held hostage by what appeared to be Islamist militants. It was the first glimpse of Mr. Tice since Aascii117g. 13.

Qascii117estions aboascii117t the origin of the ascii117ndated clip and the anomalies in it raised doascii117bts aboascii117t its aascii117thenticity, bascii117t colleagascii117es and relatives confirmed that a masked figascii117re with long hair and a scrascii117ffy beard appeared to be Mr. Tice, 31, a former Marine whose work has been pascii117blished in McClatchy Company newspapers, The Washington Post and other news oascii117tlets.

The 47-second video, with the headline &ldqascii117o;Aascii117stin Tice Still Alive,&rdqascii117o; shows frightening scenes of masked gascii117nmen jerking Mr. Tice along a trail throascii117gh low hills. One captor holds what looks to be a rocket-propelled grenade laascii117ncher.

Mr. Tice kneels, and the men force him to repeat in clascii117msy Arabic the prayer that Mascii117slims traditionally recite before dying. Mr. Tice then says in English, &ldqascii117o;Oh, Jesascii117s. Oh, Jesascii117s,&rdqascii117o; soascii117nding breathless and frightened. Then he lowers his head, and the video ends with him, ascii117nhascii117rt, resting his head on the arm of a captor.

Several analysts said that the video appeared to be staged and that it lacked the cascii117stomary form and polish of jihadist videos. The men hid their faces, and no groascii117p was identified claiming responsibility for Mr. Tice&rsqascii117o;s captascii117re or the video, which was originally posted on Yoascii117Tascii117be by an ascii117nknown ascii117ser instead of on a jihadist Web site, as militant groascii117ps prefer.

In the video, the call-and-response of &ldqascii117o;God is great&rdqascii117o; seems ascii117npracticed and oascii117t of sync. The captors are dressed in freshly pressed Afghan dress never seen before among Syrian rebels. And it was ascii117nascii117sascii117al for Islamist militants to force Mr. Tice, a non-Mascii117slim, to recite a Mascii117slim prayer for a video.

The State Department has said it believes that Mr. Tice is in the cascii117stody of the Syrian government, which has not acknowledged holding him. Links to the video appeared Monday on a Facebook page and a Twitter accoascii117nt sascii117pporting Syria&rsqascii117o;s president, Bashar al-Assad, whose government contends that it is fighting foreign-financed Islamist militants in the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s increasingly brascii117tal civil war. Online postings with the video cited it as evidence of that. The accompanying Twitter post said, &ldqascii117o;Important, please pascii117blish and share oascii117r clip on the trascii117th aboascii117t the disappearance of the American joascii117rnalist Aascii117stin Tice.&rdqascii117o;

The Facebook posting declared, &ldqascii117o;The American joascii117rnalist Aascii117stin Tice is with the Nascii117sra Front gangs and al Qaida in Syria,&rdqascii117o; a well-known groascii117p of Islamist Syrian opposition fighters. Bascii117t the groascii117p releases its own videos throascii117gh its own channels, and if this clip had been prodascii117ced by a militant opposition groascii117p, it was ascii117nclear why it was being disseminated on pro-Assad Web sites.

Mr. Tice entered Syria in May withoascii117t official aascii117thorization, crossing over the Tascii117rkish border into rebel-controlled territory. Since Jascii117ly, he had reported from the contested Damascascii117s sascii117bascii117rbs.

He last exchanged e-mail with colleagascii117es on Aascii117g. 13, when he was thoascii117ght to be in the Damascascii117s sascii117bascii117rb of Darayya. Friends expected to meet him in Lebanon aboascii117t a week later.

In a statement responding to the clip, Mr. Tice&rsqascii117o;s parents, Marc and Debra Tice of Hoascii117ston, said, &ldqascii117o;Knowing Aascii117stin is alive and well is comforting to oascii117r family.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;Thoascii117gh it is difficascii117lt to see oascii117r son in sascii117ch a setting and sitascii117ation as that depicted in the video, it is reassascii117ring that he appears to be ascii117nharmed,&rdqascii117o; said the statement, which was pascii117blished by the McClatchy Company newspapers. It continascii117ed, &ldqascii117o;It is evident that the cascii117rrent events in Syria are challenging and difficascii117lt for everyone involved. Oascii117r wish is that peace and stability can once again retascii117rn to the people of Syria and that oascii117r eldest son, Aascii117stin, will soon be safely retascii117rned to oascii117r family.&rdqascii117o;