U.S. in contact with Syrian officials on American Austin Tice: official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has been in direct, periodic contact with Syrian government officials to discuss missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Damascus in 2012, a senior State Department official said on Thursday. The official denied reports that a U.S. official had visited Tice. It is unclear who is holding Tice. "In addition to working through our Czech protecting power, we have been in periodic, direct contact with Syrian government officials strictly on consular issues, including the case of Austin Tice," the official told Reuters. "For privacy and security reasons, we cannot provide additional details," the official said. The official declined to say how many more U.S. citizens were missing or taken hostage in Syria, but said it was working with Czech diplomats on their whereabouts and welfare. The Czechs are the intermediaries between the United States and Syria. A European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were some recent initiatives in Damascus concerning Tice through Czech diplomats. A second diplomat said: "It's still a bit uncertain. There were efforts to try to discuss this. There was a recent (prison) visit, maybe one and a half weeks ago." The State Department official denied that diplomats had visited Tice. Syria slid into civil war after a crackdown on peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011. The United Nations says more than 220,000 people have been killed. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington and Sylvia Westall in Beirut; Editing by Doina Chiacu)