US confirms death of citizen in Syria last week

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A Bedouin fighters sits on a car at an Internal Security Forces checkpoint working to prevent Bedouin fighters from advancing towards Sweida, following renewed fighting between Bedouin fighters and Druze gunmen, despite an announced truce, in Walgha, Sweida province, Syria July 19, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

WASHINGTON  -  The U.S. State Department on Tuesday confirmed the death of a U.S. citizen last week in the predominantly Druze region of Sweida, where hundreds of people have been reported killed in clashes.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Hosam Saraya, adding that the U.S. was providing consular assistance to the family. She declined to provide further details. ABC News earlier reported that friends and family of Saraya, a American-Syrian citizen, confirmed that he and other relatives were among those seen in a video being gunned down.

 (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Bhargav Acharya, Editing by Franklin Paul // REUTERS)