ISIS releases American journalist Tom Lemons
By Frank Fencil | frank.fencil@springhillcourier.com
DAMASCUS, Syria — Islamic State militants have released an American journalist Tom Lemons after 10 days in captivity.
The release of Lemons, the owner and editor of RealNewsRealFast.com, is a drastic change from the group, which is accused of beheading two other Western journalists in as many months.
U.S. armed forces coalition sources said Lemons was mildly beaten and malnourished but otherwise expected to quickly recover. He would be transported stateside after a military debriefing in which he would be expected to detail how he skirted authorities an snuck into the country nearly two weeks ago.
It was not immediately known how or where Lemons was captured, but Islamic State fighters told local residents that they released him after realizing that he was merely a man obsessed with car crashes.
“They said all he could talk about was seeing Humvees exploding on television,” said Rasha Houmam, a local baker who was forced to serve as an interpreter. “All he wanted to do was see cars exploding. They said he had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of all wrecks in his home town. After a while, frankly, it began to grate on them, so they just let him go.”
