NBC News has changed its account of how chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel was kidnapped in Syria , saying he was now most likely taken by Sunni rebels who tried to convince their victims they were government militants . The broadcaster had previously reported that the 2012 kidnapping of Mr Engel , which saw him held for five days and expecting to be killed , was carried out by forces associated with President Bashar-al Assad . But Mr Engel has revealed that following analysis of his kidnapping it is likely the men that took him were in fact a Sunni group who had tried to convince their victims that they were Shi-ite rebels affiliated to the Government . Scroll down for video . NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel ( centre ) was taken captive with Turkey reporter Aziz Akyavas ( left ) and photographer John Kooistra ( right ) and were convinced by their captors they had been taken by forces related to President Bashar al-Assad , but they may have been Sunni rebels instead . A statement posted on the NBC News site said : 'The group that kidnapped us put on an elaborate ruse to convince us they were Shiite Shabiha militiamen . The group that kidnapped us was a criminal gang with shifting allegiances . ' The statement also raises concerns that rather than being freed following a harrowing firefight , as they were told , this may actually have been staged for propaganda purposes . Instead the captives may just have been handed over . The statement added : 'We have not been able to get a definitive account of what happened that night . But based on all of our reporting , it is clear that we were kidnapped by a criminal gang for money and released for propaganda purposes . 'This , of course , does not make our kidnappers or the five days they held us at gunpoint any less dangerous . It does , however , underscore the treacherous and violent nature of the conflict inside Syria . ' Mr Engel and his team were prompted to research the circumstances of the 2012 kidnapping after the New York Times raised questions over the attackers ' identities . They suggested the kidnapping was likely to have been carried out by a Sunni criminal element of the North Idlib Falcons Brigade , linked to the Free Syrian Army and known for taking hostages . The New York Times claimed that NBC executives were informed of the suspicions about the kidnappers ' identities during and after Mr Engel was taken . Mr Engel was convinced by his captors that he had been taken and held by government affiliated forces . But immediately after his release Mr Engel appeared on Today and in a Vanity Fair interview claiming he had been taken by the shabiha group , government militia loyal to President Bashar al-Assad . He made these assertions based on what he had been told by his captors , which included that they had been rescued by Sunni rebels . The paper claimed that when the captors realised other rebels were trying to free the victims they had actually staged a rescue so they could blame the kidnapping on the Assad regime . Engel and his crew , including producers Ghazi Balkiz and Aziz Akyavas , as well as cameraman John Kooistra , were taken hostage on December 13 , 2012 , while reporting in Syria . The foreign correspondent said they had met a man who had claimed he was a Syrian rebel commander who had promised to take them across the border to see Iranian and Lebanese prisoners being held by rebels . Syrians run for cover after a mortar shell hit a street killing several in the Bustan Al-Qasr district of Aleppo . They were soon removed from a truck and loaded into a container vehicle by armed men where they were bound , blindfolded and stripped of their passports and shoes . The kidnappers forced the group to make a video and unwittingly set off a distress GPS signal , which informed NBC exactly where they were . NBC was able to broadcast images of the farm they were being held at across the world , also informing their kidnappers they knew of the location . Engel and his crew were believed to have been taken near Ma-arrat Misrin , and were pictured in captivity with Arabic sprayed on the wall behind them . It read : ‘ Or will burn. ’ A statement published by NBC said it was clear that the group were released for propaganda purposes . During the five days they were held Mr Engel reported apparently hearing one of the rebels they were with being shot , and constantly being subjected to the sounds of guns being loaded - believing each day was his last . He claimed they were constantly tormented by the kidnappers . As an example , the 39-year-old correspondent said that one minute , their captors were giving them tea , and the next , they were demanding the crew decide who would be killed first . On the fifth night they were loaded , while blindfolded , into a van . They were told they would be handed over to military forces in Foua . As they reached a checkpoint there was the sound of gunfire and a dead body was seen on the floor . Engel has since said , in light of the new information , this may have been staged to convince them they were rescued rather than handed over . Engel , who is divorced and does n't have children , was promoted to NBC News 's chief foreign correspondent in 2008 .
Richard Engel was kidnapped in Syria with his crew and held for five days . The U.S. State Department said the journalist is safe but that he remains a hostage of ISIS.