A Turkish cameraman who went missing while reporting from Syria reappeared yesterday in an interview with a pro-government Syrian television channel.

In the video, which was broadcast by Turkish media yesterday, Cuneyt Unal appears to be in good health although he looks exhausted and nervous, with dark marks under both eyes, apparently bruising.

Unal, who works for the US-funded al-Hurra television channel, describes his journey from the Turkish border to Aleppo with rebels who are fighting troops loyal to President Bashar Assad.

He said: "All the people with me had weapons in their hands. In the armed group there are Chechen, Libyan, Qatari and Saudi Arabians."

They joined up with other rebel groups in Aleppo but he was captured by government troops after a clash.

Mr Unal said: "Later they had a gunfight on Maidan Street with Syrian soldiers and they seized me and brought me here away from this armed group."

Unal crossed into Syria on August 20 with his Jordanian colleague Bashar Fahmi and two Japanese journalists working for Japanese media, one of whom, Mika Yamamoto, was killed in Aleppo.

Fahmi, who has also not been heard from since last week and was reportedly wounded in Syria, does not appear in the video.

The video clip begins with a still photograph of a Unal holding a rocket-propelled-grenade in his left hand and wearing a traditional red and white Arab scarf around his neck.

l A Syrian military helicopter came down in flames in Damascus yesterday as President Assad's air force strafed districts in the capital and in Aleppo.

State television confirmed a helicopter had crashed in the Syrian capital but gave no details.

Opposition activists said rebels had shot it down.

Opposition video footage shows a crippled aircraft trailing fire and crashing into a built-up area.