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Three Spanish Reporters Missing in War-Torn Aleppo in Syria

The Spanish Federation of Journalists' Association identified the men as Antonio Pampliega, Jose Manuel Lopez and Angel Sastre.
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MADRID — Three Spanish freelance journalists who traveled to Syria have gone missing in the war-torn city of Aleppo, a Spanish journalism association said Tuesday.

The Spanish Federation of Journalists' Association identified the men as Antonio Pampliega, Jose Manuel Lopez and Angel Sastre.

Elsa Gonzalez, the president of the association, told Spanish National Television in a telephone interview that the three disappeared while working in the Aleppo area. She said they have not been heard from for at least several days.

Once Syria's commercial center, Aleppo been carved up between government- and rebel-held neighborhoods since 2012, with government forces controlling much of western Aleppo and rebel groups in control of the east.

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The Islamic State group, which has kidnapped Western journalists in Syria and later killed them, is outside the city and controls parts of the northern and eastern Aleppo countryside.

Spain's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment on the journalists' disappearance. State-owned Spanish National Television reported that the Foreign Ministry is aware of the situation and was working on it, without elaborating.

Aleppo is the scene of daily fighting. Government helicopters also regularly drop explosive barrels on rebel-held parts of the city.

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A missile attack on a rebel-held neighborhood in Aleppo killed at least 10 people and wounded many others Tuesday, two activist groups said.

The Local Coordination Committees said the attack on the Maghayer neighborhood killed 10 people, including women and children.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack killed 18 people and wounded more than 50. It said the surface-to-surface missile destroyed several houses in the area.

It is not uncommon to have different death tolls in the aftermath of attacks in Syria, where the four-year conflict has killed more than 220,000 people.