CNN
—
An American citizen from Oklahoma was among eight men, all family members, rounded up and killed in an execution-style attack during the sectarian violence that flared in Syria last week.
Hosam Saraya, a 35-year-old Syrian-American, was identified by two relatives and a friend as one of eight men whose killing was captured on a video that circulated on social media over the weekend.
The video, which has been geolocated by CNN, shows a group of armed men wearing military uniforms and face masks firing on eight captives while shouting “God is great.”
CNN cannot independently verify the identify of the gunmen in the video. A friend of the Saraya family said he believed they were militants aligned with the government. A school in Suwayda founded by Hosam Saraya also blamed government-linked fighters for the attack.
Saraya’s brother Kareem and other family members were also executed, according to two relatives, one in Syria and one in the US, who asked not to be named for safety reasons. The US-based relative said the family’s male members had all been killed – leaving only their wives and daughters.
The killings occurred on July 17 amid an outbreak of sectarian violence between Syrian Druze groups and Bedouin tribes in the Druze-majority Suwayda province.
Saraya, who had studied in Oklahoma before returning to Syria, belonged to the Druze community, an Arab religious group of roughly one million people who primarily live in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. He had gone to Syria to care for his father who was ill, the US relative said.
A female family member who survived the massacre recalled how militants had opened fire on and stormed the family’s multi-story home early in the morning.
“Some of them were wearing military fatigues, some of them were dressed like Bedouins … one of them was wearing a General Security uniform … the black one,” she said, adding, “They told us we are the army of Ahmad Al-Jolani (the Syrian president).”
“They threatened us, told us not to make a sound or we will kill you,” she said. “They threatened us with rape … he told me if you speak I will come and kill you.”
She said the young men in the house had tried to fight off the intruders, but were overwhelmed and taken to a place near the home – Tishreen Square – and executed.
The friend who CNN spoke to corroborated these details, saying he witnessed the militants storm the home and forcibly remove eight men, while leaving female family members inside.
The Syrian government “categorically” rejects crimes against civilians, Nour al-Dean Baba, a spokesperson for the country’s interior ministry, told CNN on Tuesday.
“Everyone responsible for these crimes will face justice, regardless of the ethnicity or sect of the victims. As long as they were innocent civilians, such acts are absolutely unacceptable to us and those who committed it will face justice,” al-Dean Baba said.
The US relative first learned of the attack when one of the female survivors sent her a desperate message: “Pray for us, they kidnapped the boys, they shot the house, they stole stuff”.
Twelve hours passed as the family desperately waited for news, hoping their relatives would return safely. It wasn’t until another overseas relative saw the videos circulating of their execution that they realized the eight men had been killed.
The friend who spoke to CNN said relatives later told him the captives were marched 200 meters to Tishreen Square, where they were lined up and executed. One of the men had sent a final message to friends that read, “Come and help us if you can. They surrounded us,” the friend said.
The friend, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, identified Hosam Saraya’s body after watching the video.
“I don’t know how monsters can do that,” the US relative told CNN.
Asked about Saraya, the US State Department confirmed Monday that an American citizen had died in Suwayda. On Tuesday, spokesperson Tammy Bruce offered condolences to Saraya’s family and said the department was providing them consular assistance, but declined to give further details.
Oklahoma Sens. James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin also confirmed the killing of an American from the state in Syria.
“Hosam was an Oklahoman and member of the Druze community who was tragically executed alongside other members of his family in Syria,” Lankford wrote on X. “We are praying for his family, friends, and the entire community as they grieve this senseless loss.”
Mullin wrote on X that an “American citizen from Oklahoma” was “brutally executed alongside his family members in Syria,” adding he was working with partners in the region to learn more. His tweet did not name the Saraya family.
Widespread violence between the Druze minority and Bedouin tribes in southern Syria erupted on July 13 and has left hundreds dead in the latest explosion of sectarian bloodletting since the authoritarian rule of Bashar al-Assad was toppled by a coalition of Islamist rebels.
The violence drew Israeli intervention in support of the Druze, as well as US condemnation and an international scramble to stop the fighting spiraling further.
The Syrian government said over the weekend that clashes in Suwayda had stopped after a ceasefire agreement was reached between the government, Druze groups, and Bedouin tribes.
A separate ceasefire was agreed between Syria and Israel. The deal was announced by US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who said it was “embraced” by Turkey, Jordan and other neighboring countries.
