American Journalist Held in Syria for Two Years Freed

Peter Theo Curtis, the American freelance reporter who had been held hostage in Syria for almost two years by Nusra Front , an al Qaeda-linked militant group, was freed on Sunday.

Curtis was handed over to UN peacekeepers in Golan Heights region. After a medical checkup, he was handed over to U.S. representatives, a statement released by the United Nations  said.

Qatar, a major supporter of Syrian rebels fighting against President Assad, said that it hadworked hard to secure the release of the American.

"My heart is full at the extraordinary, dedicated, incredible people, too many to name individually, who have become my friends and have tirelessly helped us over these many months," Curtis' mother, Nancy Curtis, said.  "Please know that we will be eternally grateful," she added, according to Associated Press.

Relatives of Curtis said that they received ransom demands ranging from $ 3 million to $ 25 million. The United States ambassador to UN, Samantha Power, introduced the fear stricken family to her Qatar counterpart, as Qatar had been successful in the release of Europeans kidnapped by al Qaeda in Yemen.

With Qatar's  help, the relatives were able to send a proof-of-life question to Curtis, which only he could have answered correctly, The New York Times reports.

"Theo's mother, whom we've known from Massachusetts and with whom we've worked during this horrific period, simply refused to give up and has worked indefatigably to keep hope alive that this day could be a reality," Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement, ABC News reports. 

Curtis, who has authored two books, was raised inthe Boston area. He took a bachelor's degree from Middlebury College and a doctorate in comparative literature from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He then taught poetry to young prisoners in a local jail in Vermont.

He used the experience he had in Vermont for writing his first book titled "My life had stood - a Loaded Gun."

Later, he went to Yemen and started writing under the name Theo Padnos. His mother received his last email in October 18, 2012, when he went to Antakya in Turkey near the Syrian border as a freelance journalist.

The investigation by his family and friends pointed at Curtis crossing into Syria with a guide. The guide betrayed him and handed him over to an extremist group called Ahrar al-Sham, which later gave him to the Nusra Front, reports The New York Times.