Kidnapped Turkish journalist videotaped holding weapon in Syria

Cameraman believed to have been captured with a colleague while covering Aleppo fighting last week ‘confesses’ to crossing border with foreign fighters

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish television has broadcast a video of a Turkish journalist who is reportedly being held in Syrian government captivity.

NTV television on Monday showed the video of Cuneyt Unal, a cameraman who was working for the US-funded al-Hurra network when he and a colleague, Bashar Fahmi, were believed to have been captured while covering fighting in the northern city of Aleppo a week ago.

Turkey’s Anadolu news agency says the video was first broadcast on a pro-regime television station in Syria.

On the video, Unal has bruises under his eyes. He says he crossed into Syria with foreign militants, and one image shows him holding a weapon. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says Unal was coerced into making a statement and that Syria is responsible for his wellbeing.