Exclusive | Anguished mother of captured US journalist slams CNN: 'Another knife in our belly'

US journalist Austin Tice’s family is furious over a CNN report strongly suggesting her son — who was taken captive in Syria by the Assad regime 13 years ago — is dead.

The CNN documentary and accompanying article by Clarissa Ward, aired and published Tuesday, relied on the testimony of Bassam Al-Hassan, the ex-right-hand man to ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.

Hassan, who has been charged with war crimes, claimed he was ordered by Assad to execute Tice in 2013 and that the order was carried out by a subordinate.

“Of course, Austin is dead. Austin is dead,” Hassan told CNN.

However, Hassan was previously interrogated by the FBI over these claims and failed a polygraph test, a detail that the family feels CNN buried.

“CNN ran this article without regard for Austin and the torm