Travis Timmerman appears to have been among thousands of people released from the country’s notorious prisons after rebels reached Damascus over the weekend, overthrowing President Bashar Assad and ending his family’s 54-year rule.

Identifying himself only as "Travis," the man told NBC News Foreign Correspondent Matt Bradley that he was a pilgrim and had been detained after crossing into Syria on foot.

The man told reporters that his name was Travis Timmerman and that he had entered Syria on a religious pilgrimage. He said that he had been detained for months.

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP)— An American who turned up in Syria on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago.