Spanish officials say they are trying to establish what happened to three freelance journalists who went missing around the embattled northern Syrian city of Aleppo.
Foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo said such cases cause much anxiety "because you're dependent on the movements of those who have kidnapped our compatriots".
Mr Margallo however urged "maximum discretion" in the case and called for "tranquillity", saying similar situations in the past had ended well for Spain.