Jordanian national freed in Syria

By Laith al-Juneidi

AMMAN, Jordan

A Jordanian national has been freed in war-torn Syria, according to the Jordanian military.

The national was abducted by militants in southern Syrian and was tortured for paying a ransom, a military statement said on Sunday.

The statement said the man was freed by Jordanian forces and returned to his family in Irbid province in northern Jordan.

No further details were given about how the Jordanian national was freed.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting and more than 10 million displaced, according to the UN.