An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday said he was detained after crossing into the country on foot seven months ago on a Christian pilgrimage. Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country's notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus over the weekend,

Travis Timmerman, an American from Missouri who was imprisoned in Syria, told NBC News he had been on a pilgrimage to Damascus. Video led some to thing he was Austin Tice.

The man identifying himself only as “Travis,” and said that he was a pilgrim who had been detained after crossing into Syria on foot.

Timmerman, 29, had not contacted his family for months after he went on a trip to Eastern Europe. His discovery came in the wake of the overthrow of the Assad regime.

An American citizen detained in Syria was freed on Thursday after rebels overtook the city of Damascus, toppling the rule of President Bashar Assad and releasing thousands from imprisonment

DAMASCUS, Syria — A Missouri man found in Syria told ... Authorities in Missouri and Hungarian capital Budapest had earlier this year put out missing person reports for a man named Pete ...

Syria's reconstruction, and the reform of existing institutions, said the directorate on X. President Erdogan stated that Ankara and Budapest have the will to strengthen their excellent bilateral ...

The 29-year-old from Missouri's Ozarks had last been seen in Budapest, Hungary. He said he was detained earlier this year after crossing into Syria on foot from Lebanon and held in prison until the fall of the Assad regime.

Timmerman was last seen in Budapest, Hungary ... where he eventually crossed into Syria on foot illegally. He was taken captive while the nation was under the rule of President Bashar Assad ...

A Missouri man found in Syria told NBC News on Thursday he spent ... Authorities in Missouri and Hungarian capital Budapest had earlier this year put out missing person reports for a man named ...

Mr Timmerman had been reported as missing in May, having last been seen in the Hungarian capital, Budapest. Mr Timmerman said he had snuck from Lebanon into Syria and he was arrested and held in the Far Falastin prison, operated by Syrian intelligence.

A former prisoner spearheading a private effort to help find captive US journalist Austin Tice is concerned that deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad may be hiding him to use as leverage in securing his own future.