BEIRUT - Two young US journalists who went missing in Lebanon a week ago were detained in Syria on Thursday for entering the country illegally, the foreign ministry said.

"The Syrian authorities arrested two American nationals -- Holly Chmela and Taylor Luck -- because they illegally entered Syrian territory this morning with the help of a smuggler," a ministry statement said.

"The security services are now interrogating them to find out how they entered without the necessary visas. The two American nationals will be turned over to the United States embassy in Damascus after the necessary procedures are completed."

The statement said US charge d'affaires Maura Connelly had been called in to be briefed on the situation.

In Beirut, a Lebanese security official told AFP the US embassy in Lebanon has officially notified authorities that the pair were being held in Syria. Luck, 23, and Chmela, 27, were on holiday. They had been missing since October 1 when they checked out of their Beirut hotel.

The US embassy in Lebanon said on Wednesday that they had had reportedly left Beirut headed for Byblos and Tripoli in northern Lebanon, from where they planned to cross into Syria before returning to Jordan. Reporters at the Jordan Times newspaper told AFP that Luck was a staff member and Chmela, whose Facebook page links her to the New York Times, had just completed an internship there.