A U.S. photojournalist said Sunday he was assaulted by police and briefly detained as he tried to cover a land dispute in a southern Chinese village, where residents protesting the arrest of an anti-corruption activist held officials hostage for more than a week.

Freelance journalist Danfung Dennis told The Associated Press he was released Sunday afternoon after authorities detained him for about 10 to 12 hours in a hotel room in Shanwei, a city in Guangdong province.

Dennis, 25, said policemen hit him over the head several times and injured his arm when he tried to use his mobile phone during the detention.

He was detained while reporting in Dongzhou, a village near Shanwei, where a large group of riot police on Saturday stormed a temple and rescued eight officials held hostage by residents. The villagers had grabbed the officials to secure the release of an activist, Chen Qian, who was arrested last week for protesting corruption.

Dennis, from New York, said villagers had tried to hide him from the police and helped him return to his hotel in Shanwei, where he was stopped by three policemen.

Reporters working in China are frequently detained or harassed by police for covering sensitive news, including village protests and corruption scandals.

Dennis said he feared the villagers who helped him may be punished by authorities.

"I'm deeply concerned for their safety," he said.

The official Xinhua News Agency said late Saturday there were no injuries or conflicts during the police operation. Xinhua reported that the officials were taken hostage because villagers were unhappy about the arrest of Chen, who the report said had assaulted one of the officials "over trifles."

Last year, police shot dead three protesters and wounded eight others when they clashed in protests over land disputes in Dongzhou.

Thousands of villagers protested inadequate compensation for land seized by the local government to build the power plant. Authorities say police opened fire after they were attacked by demonstrators armed with knives, spears and explosives.