U.S. State Department says it is likely the Syrian government has U.S. journalist Austin Tice New video has surfaced online allegedly showing missing American journalist Austin Tice, surrounded by anonymous captors. Tice, a former Marine and freelancer whose work has appeared in various publications, has been missing since mid-August, when he last emailed colleagues, according to McClatchy Newspapers . No group has claimed responsibility for his abduction so far, but U.S. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland told reporters Monday they have an idea. "You know, there's a lot of reason for the Syrian government to duck responsibility, but we continue to believe that to the best of our knowledge we think he is in Syrian government custody," Nuland said. The Syrian government has to date neither confirmed nor denied the responsibility for the kidnappings of several journalists. Turkish journalist Cuneyt Unal has also been missing since mid-August, and the Turkish government and advocate groups insist the Syrian regime is responsible for his safety. Both Unal and Tice went missing while reporting alongside rebel fighters. In the recent video allegedly showing Tice, he is seen being led by robed men carrying automatic weapons saying repeatedly in Arabic "God is great." The man who is allegedly Tice in the video can then be heard saying an Islamic prayer in Arabic, and just before the end of the 47-second clip, he says "Oh Jesus" twice. While the State Department would not confirm whether or not that is Tice in the video, the Tice family released a statement from their home in Austin saying: "Knowing Austin is alive and well is comforting to our family. Though it is difficult to see our son in such a setting and situation as that depicted in the video, it is reassuring that he appears to be unharmed. The Washington Post reports the video provides some evidence Tice is not being held by Islamic extremists. The Post reports: "There are clear discrepancies between the footage of Tice and other videos released by Islamist extremist groups operating in Syria. Those discrepancies included the clothing of Tice's apparent captors, the production quality of the film, the means of distribution and other signs that cast doubt on whether Tice was actually being held by one of the extremist groups that has become active in battling Syria's government.