President Donald Trump has asked Syria to release kidnapped journalist and former Marine captain Austin Tice, who is being held hostage in the war-torn country after being captured while on assignment almost eight years ago.

"Recovering Americans held captive and imprisoned abroad continues to be a top priority of my administration. Please work with us, and we would appreciate you letting him out. We've done a lot for Syria and have to see if they're going to do this. It would be very much appreciated if they let Austin Tice immediately," Trump said during a White House coronavirus task force press briefing.

However, Trump did not confirm any knowledge on Tice's health condition and wished for the journalist to be released for captivity if he is.

Meanwhile, a 43-second video surfaced online about five weeks after his disappearance, showing Tice in captivity, bound and blindfolded. His family said the journalist was surrounded by 'an unusual group of apparent jihadists', chanting "Allah-Akbar". At one point in the clip, his captors forced Tice to recite a prayer in broken Arabic.

Since the video's release, there has been no further update on Tice's whereabouts, despite the belief that the journalist is still alive.

Meanwhile, Tice's mother, Debra, expressed her frustration at a senior administration official for allegedly obstructing the rescue effort and for being 'insubordinate' to Trump. She adds that the president has assured her of Tice's safe release, both verbally and in writing.

"At this very disturbing time for our nation and the world, it is more important than ever to get Austin safely home," Mrs. Tice said.

During his time as CIA Director in June 2017, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reached out to a Syrian government official in an effort to secure Tice's release. However, the efforts went into flames after Syria launched an attack in the northern part of the country. As a result, the Trump administration retaliated with a missile strike.

A year later, then-U.S. special presidential envoy for hostage affairs Robert O'Brien, who is now national security adviser, said he believed Tice was still alive.

"Due to the complexities of this case, we are pursuing multiple lines of effort to secure his release, including diplomatic engagement with multiple nations, international organizations, and private individuals," a spokesperson for the State Department said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said they are offering a $1 million reward in exchange for any information that will lead to the former Marine's location, recovery, and return.

Earlier this month, Tice was released on humanitarian reasons and is in the custody of Swiss diplomats as he undergoes medical observation.

Expressing his gratitude to the Swiss government, Pompeo called for the release of other US citizens who are either currently detained or missing in Iran, including Morad Tahbaz, former FBI agent Robert Levinson and Siamak Namazee and his father, Baquer Namazee.

In August 2012, Tice had travelled to Syria as an independent journalist before his final year in Georgetown Law School, covering the civil war in Syria for various news outlets such as McClatchy and The Washington Post. He was supposed to depart to Lebanon on August 14, days before his 31st birthday, but was detained at a checkpoint before disappearing near Damascus.