Two American journalists who went missing during a vacation in Lebanon were quoted Friday as saying they were "kidnapped" by their taxi driver and taken into Syria, where they were held in custody for a week before being released.

The two _ Taylor Luck, 23, and Holli Chmela, 27 _ spoke to their newspaper Jordan Times upon returning to Jordan early Friday. They were released on Thursday in Damascus, where authorities said they had crossed the border illegally with the help of smugglers.

In the report, Luck said the two had hired a taxi driver to take them from Lebanon to Syria. But instead of driving to an official border crossing where they expected to get an entry visa for Syria, the driver went off the main road, then "locked the doors" and demanded their money.

Luck, of Oak Park, Illinois, said they refused to give the cab driver anything.

As they drove on, a military car showed up and pulled the taxi over, then moved the Americans and their luggage into their vehicle, Luck recounted. "We did not know we were in Syria until we saw a sign for Al Hosn Castle after 20 minutes of driving."

He said they remained in the Syrian jail for eight days. Syria's Foreign Minister said they were detained Thursday, a day after the U.S. Embassy put out an alert that they were missing.

"I found myself behind bars with more than 30 people, while Holli was locked up in another room. I refused to be separated from her and they finally put us in one room for one night before we were separated again," he said.

The Associated Press could not reach Luck or Chmela and calls to their cell phone numbers were unanswered Friday in Amman.

In Washington, the State Department declined to comment on the specifics of Luck's account of being held for a week, but said it was concerned that Syrian authorities had not promptly notified U.S. diplomats when the pair were detained.

"We have expressed our concern to the Syrian government that two American citizens were held for several days and that they did not notify us," said Gordon Duguid, a department spokesman.

The Jordan Times chief editor Samir Barhoum dismissed Syrian claims the two had intentionally crossed the border illegally and said they were law-abiding citizens who "would never violate the laws." He added the journalists came to the newspaper's office immediately upon returning to Jordan.

Luck also told his paper the two did not reveal their profession to Syrian authorities but said they were tourists. Continued...