"It Was Important For Me to Go Back"

It was a quick trip, but it was a very important one for NBC's Richard Engel.

The Peacock's foreign correspondent Richard Engel made his first trip to Syria since he and his team were kidnapped and held captive there last December.

Engel traveled with photographer John Kooistra, who was kidnapped with him in December.

Engel says that his bosses at NBC weren't anxious to send him back to Syria. But he said it was important to go because of the story.

"It did make me feel better," he said via telephone from Turkey on Wednesday. "It was important for me to go back, but I won't say that I went back to prove to myself that I could do it."

It was a smaller NBC team that went this week, primarily because it was a shorter trip. The team spent less than 24 hours in Syria, talking to rebel fighters and commanders about the chemical-weapons allegations.

"There are so many stories circulating about chemical weapons," Engel said. "The only way to find out who is telling the truth is by going to the areas and seeing what they have to offer."

H/T The AP ​