An American journalist who says she was recently held captive by al Qaeda has been arrested and jailed in Turkey. 
 
 Lindsey Snell, a freelance correspondent and video producer, was taken into custody by Turkish authorities earlier this month while coming back from Syria. 
 
 Snell, a Florida native and a Muslim convert who has reported for NBC, Vice, ABC and Yahoo, said in an Aug. 5 Facebook post that an “incredible, selfless badass�? helped her escape after Al Nusra Front members held her captive for two weeks. 
 
 “I must apologize to my friends and colleagues for all the pain and worry this caused you,�? she said in the post. “I love you all, and I appreciate every effort made to secure my release.�? 
 
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 But when Snell tried to reenter Turkey after being released, she was immediately detained by security forces, her father told the Daily News. 
 
 “My daughter is extremely intelligent and I’ve always trusted her best judgement,�? Jeremy Snell said, adding he’s in contact with his daughter through a U.S. State Department representative. “But this is my kid being caught in the cross fire of paranoia.�? 
 
 Turkish authorities told their news agency Anadolu that Snell was crossing the border illegally, speculating she was a spy. 
 
 This was the first prison Nusra held me in. Really not sure why they kept letting me have my phone. pic.twitter.com/0GEc7gvugo — Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) August 5, 2016 
 
 U.S. State Department officials confirmed during a Wednesday press briefing in Washington, D.C. that Snell was detained on Aug. 7 and is being charged by Turkish authorities. 
 
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 “What we understand is that she has been charged with violating a military zone,�? U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said, adding Snell is being held at a prison in the Hatay Province on the border of Syria. 
 
 The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment. 
 
 Jeremy Snell, a Vietnam veteran, said he’s intensely critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who he said is the cause of “devolving relations�? with the U.S. 
 
 “Erdogan did not want (Lindsey) to escape his realm and his wrath,�? Snell said. “My kid’s in a Turkish prison. The first thing I think is ‘I need to go over there and do something.’�? 
 
 Snell said his daughter graduated from college early, enrolled in law school and then decided she wanted to be a war correspondent. 
 
 The Florida native has previously reported for outlets such as Vocativ and NBC. 
 
 While he has yet to hear anything about when his daughter might return to the U.S., Snell said he sleeps a bit easier knowing she’s out of Syria. 
 
 “Thank God she’s not held outside Turkish borders anymore,�? he said. 
 
 Tensions between the U.S. and Turkey have flared in recent months as both parties navigate a twisted web of self-interests in the fight against ISIS. 
 
 The U.S. supports Kurdish fighters battling the terrorist group in northern Iraq and Syria, though Turkey is waging its own battle against Kurdish separatists whom it calls “terrorists.�? 
 
 Turkish officials reacting to a failed coup against President Erdogan last month also blamed the U.S. for not extraditing the man they believe was behind the attempt, a reclusive cleric who lives in the Poconos. 

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 / Updated By Abigail Williams 
 
 An American freelance journalist has been held by Turkish authorities since August 7, the State Department confirmed Wednesday. 
 
 Lindsey Snell was detained after crossing the border from Syria into Turkey and has now been charged with violating a military zone. 
 
 For several years, Snell worked as a journalist covering the Middle East and North Africa. Her reporting on both Syria and Iraq appeared on MSNBC in 2014 and 2015. 
 
 Lindsey Snell MSNBC 
 
 According to her Twitter profile, Snell’s work has also been used in reports by VICE, ABC News, Discovery and Yahoo News among others. 
 
 A State Department official said the U.S. government was aware of Snell’s presence in Syria and that helping her to get to a safe location was the agency’s consistent and overriding goal. 
 
 U.S. personnel were dispatched to the Turkey-Syria border to support Snell’s safe exit from the war-ravaged country but Snell was subsequently detained by Turkish authorities, the official said. 
 
 On her last post on Facebook two days earlier, Snell told an account of being kidnapped and then later released by Jabhat Fateh al Sham — a militant group previously known as Jabhat al Nusra. It is known to have ties to al Qaeda. 
 
 “Because of my unique situation, I was able to convince my captors to give me the use of a phone ... which ultimately let me plan my escape, but which also let me document much of my captivity in photos and videos. (And I bet "don't give prisoners phones!" will make it into the new Jabhat Fateh al Sham employee handbook.) It's a crazy story. A cave prison (the previous tenant of my cell had marked his days in residence in blood on the walls), masked villains, motorcycle escapes, and disguises. I can't wait to share the details.” 
 
 The veracity of the story could not be confirmed. 
 
 "[Snell] is currently being held in a prison facility in Hatay province," State Department spokesperson John Kirby confirmed. "Consular officers from the consulate office in Adana visited Ms. Snell most recently on the 26th of this month and are providing all possible consular assistance." 
 
 The spokesperson said both the embassy and the administration have been following this case closely and State Department officials have been in contact with Turkish government officials. 
 
 Turkish officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News. 
 
 Hatay's governor, Ercan Topaca, told the state-run Anadolu Agency: "A U.S. journalist was captured while she was trying to cross the border illegally; she was taken to court and remanded. The trial phase is ongoing. For now, we do not know if she is a spy or not."
– On Aug. 5, American freelance journalist Lindsey Snell posted hints of a "crazy story" on Facebook, noting she'd been kidnapped by an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria and had escaped "with the help of an incredible, selfless badass." She promised to share more details, but that never happened: She was detained by Turkish authorities two days after that post after crossing the border into Turkey and has been held there since, the State Department confirms, per NBC News. Her alleged crime: violating a military zone. "[Snell] is currently being held in a prison facility in Hatay province," State Department spokesman John Kirby says. Hatay's governor tells local media, "A US journalist was captured while she was trying to cross the border illegally. … We do not know if she is a spy or not." A State Department official tells the BBC it's not certain whether Snell was targeted because she's a journalist. Snell, who has an extensive résumé covering the Middle East and North Africa for news outlets such as VICE and ABC News, said in her Facebook post she had been able to slip away from her original captors thanks to a cellphone she was able to trick them into giving her. "I bet 'don't give prisoners phones!' will make it into the new Jabhat Fateh al Sham employee handbook," she wrote, adding her ordeal included everything from "masked villains" and a blood-stained "cave prison" to "motorcycle escapes." Kirby notes consulate officials from the Adana office paid a visit to Snell on Aug. 26 and that the State Department has been corresponding with Turkish government authorities. Meanwhile, Snell's dad tells the New York Daily News, "[Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan did not want [Lindsey] to escape his realm and his wrath." (It's a convoluted situation in the Syria-Turkey region.)