Two more French journalists held hostage in Syria

France said Wednesday that two more French journalists are being held hostage in Syria, bringing to at least four the number of French journalists held there.

French journalist Nicolas Hénin, who is being held hostage in Syria Benoit Schaeffer

Reporter Nicolas Hénin and photographer Pierre Torres were abducted on 22 June but the information was kept under wraps until today at the request of their families, the French foreign ministry said in a statement.

Hénin was working on a report for the weekly magazine Le Point and the Franco-German TV channel Arte.

Torres was expecting to cover local elections in Raqqa, northern Syria.

Reporter Didier François and photographer Edouard Elias were also kidnapped in June but their disappearance was made public earlier.

Hénin was kidnapped in Raqqa, his father, Pierre-Yves, told France Inter radio, adding that Torres "disappeared on the same day and in the same conditions".

The family had since received reports that they had been moved because of worsening conditions in the town.

"Since then we have had the essential information that Nicolas is alive, confirmed by the French government," he said.

On Sunday Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius confirmed that François and Elias, who were kidnapped in the Aleppo region, were alive.