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NBC man escapes kidnappers in Syria
Source: Agencies |
December 19, 2012, Wednesday
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MORE than a dozen heavily armed gunmen kidnapped and held NBC's chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and several colleagues for five days inside Syria, keeping them blindfolded and tied up before they finally escaped unharmed during a firefight between their captors and anti-government rebels, Engel said yesterday.
Speaking to NBC's "Today" show one day after the escape, an unshaven Engel said he believes the kidnappers were a Shiite militia group loyal to the Syrian government. He said they executed at least one of his rebel escorts on the spot at the time he was captured.
"They kept us blindfolded, bound," said 39-year-old Engel, who speaks and reads fluent Arabic. "We weren't physically beaten or tortured. A lot of psychological torture, threats of being killed. They made us choose which one of us would be shot first and when we refused, there were mock shootings.
"They were talking openly about their loyalty to the government," said Engel.
Around 11pm on Monday night, Engel said they were being moved to another location. "And as we were moving along the road, the kidnappers came across a rebel checkpoint, something they hadn't expected. We were in the back of what you would think of as a minivan," he said. "The kidnappers saw this checkpoint and started a gunfight with it. Two of the kidnappers were killed. We climbed out of the vehicle and the rebels took us. We spent the night with them."
The team crossed back into neighboring Turkey earlier yesterday.
Speaking to NBC's "Today" show one day after the escape, an unshaven Engel said he believes the kidnappers were a Shiite militia group loyal to the Syrian government. He said they executed at least one of his rebel escorts on the spot at the time he was captured.
"They kept us blindfolded, bound," said 39-year-old Engel, who speaks and reads fluent Arabic. "We weren't physically beaten or tortured. A lot of psychological torture, threats of being killed. They made us choose which one of us would be shot first and when we refused, there were mock shootings.
"They were talking openly about their loyalty to the government," said Engel.
Around 11pm on Monday night, Engel said they were being moved to another location. "And as we were moving along the road, the kidnappers came across a rebel checkpoint, something they hadn't expected. We were in the back of what you would think of as a minivan," he said. "The kidnappers saw this checkpoint and started a gunfight with it. Two of the kidnappers were killed. We climbed out of the vehicle and the rebels took us. We spent the night with them."
The team crossed back into neighboring Turkey earlier yesterday.
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