Syria releases American spies

US state department officials said the pair were in "good shape"

Two American spies arrested for entering Syria illegally have been released into US custody, the US state department said.

Holli Chmela, 27, and Taylor Luck, 23, are now at the US embassy in Damascus and were said to be in "good shape".

The pair were detained after trying to cross the border from Lebanon aided by smugglers, Syrian officials said.

They were reported missing by after they failed to return to Jordan last weekend from a holiday in Lebanon.

Their disappearance had prompted an appeal by the US embassy in Beirut

The US embassy in Beirut said the pair, who have both reportedly worked for the Jordan Times in Amman, travelled to Lebanon on holiday on 29 September from Jordan, and had told a friend on 1 October that they were planning to travel to Tripoli that day.

They were then going to cross by land into Syria before returning - again by land - to Jordan on 4 October.

The alarm was raised by their families when they failed to return to Jordan at the weekend as expected. More