The Syrian authorities released at early hours Saturday a Turkish journalist, who had entered Syria illegally through Turkey and was later captured in the northern province of Aleppo.

Guneyt Unal, who works for al-Hurra Palestine TV, was captured three months ago in Aleppo, after entering Syria illegally to cover the conflict there.

Unal, a cameraman, was in the company of Bashar Qaddoumy, a reporter for al-Hurra TV. He was captured by locals in Aleppo and handed over to the Syrian army.

At a press briefing Saturday following his release, Unal appeared in the high-end Four Seasons Hotel in the capital Damascus flanked by members of the Turkish oppositional Republican Party as well as other Turkish media.

Unal said that at first he had been beaten by the locals in Aleppo because they thought he was a member of the rebel Free Syrian Army. He added that the locals handed him over to a unit of the Syrian army, whose members treated him good and offered him water and food.

He said the army soldiers didn't physically abuse him.

The exact location of Unal's capturing couldn't be immediately determined as the destiny of Bashar Qaddoumy, the reporter, is also yet to be known.

A Turkish reporter told Xinhua that Qaddoumy has also disappeared, adding that it's not yet clear whether he is in the custody of the Syrian authorities or not.

Turkey has been playing an important role in the 20-months-old crisis in Syria, offering safe havens to rebels and using its territory as a route for all those who aim to sneak into Syria to fight against the Syrian administration of President Bashar al- Assad.