Three Spanish journalists experienced in warzone reporting are missing in northern Syria, and some now fear they may have been abducted.
Antonio Pampliega, José Manuel López, and Ángel Sastre were last heard from while working in the city of Aleppo on July 13, said the president of the Federation of Press Associations of Spain,
according to The New York Times.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Spain also
confirmed to CNN that the men were missing, and a joint statement from the men's families said, "We are now working to find them but for the time being we don't know where they are."
A local fixer assisting the men has also reportedly gone missing.
All three men entered Syria on July 10 from the southern border of Turkey.
Aleppo and much of Syria is locked in a deadly struggle between the ruling party of President Bashar al-Assad, al Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, and the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
"We urge the Spanish government to use all possible means to find these journalists and we appeal to all parties to the conflict to respect the work of the media and to stop taking hostages for political ends," said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire in a statement regarding the missing men.
"The UN Security Council's recent Resolution 2222 pointed out that journalists covering armed conflicts are civilians, that they cannot be deliberately targeted and that they enjoy special protection."
Of the many militant groups operating in Syria, the Islamic State has created an international profile for itself in part by kidnapping numerous journalists. Some are ransomed, while others like James Foley and Steven J. Sotloff have been publically beheaded via Internet videos.