The U.S. State Department confirmed on Tuesday that a U.S. citizen was killed in Syria after disturbing videos surfaced showing him among a group of men apparently being executed by Syrian government forces.

The State Department on Tuesday confirmed an American citizen was shot and killed by Syrian government forces in viral graphic footage on social media. Hosam Saraya, a Syrian American citizen of Druze descent,

Relatives and officials say a Syrian-American man of the Druze religious minority is among dozens of civilians killed in sectarian clashes in southern Syria

More than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in several days of sectarian violence in Syria’s coastal regions earlier this year, a government committee tasked with investigating the attacks has found.