German officials concerned about citizens fighting in Syria
French journalists urge release of two correspondents kidnapped last month near Aleppo

AP — Germany’s top security official says dozens of young Germans have traveled to Syria and may be being radicalized by Islamic extremist groups involved in the country’s civil war.
Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said 60 Germans are currently in Syria, news agency dpa reported. He added: “Our fear is that they are being radicalized in training camps by organizations close to al-Qaeda.”
Friedrich said at a meeting of federal and state security officials in Nuremberg that authorities have to ensure such people are observed after they return to Germany. He put at about 1,000 the number of young people from European Union countries who are in Syria, dpa reported.
Rebels against the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad range in ideology from secular to hard-line Islamic extremists.
Also on Tuesday, journalists in France urged the release of two French reporters kidnapped in Syria a month ago.
French President Francois Hollande met with the reporters’ families and insisted the government is mobilized to free them. Europe-1 radio reporter Didier Francois and independent photographer Edouard Elias went missing as they were headed for the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. It’s unclear where they are or who is holding them.
A group of journalists formed a committee that rallied Tuesday in Paris to call attention to their plight. Florence Aubenas, a French journalist who was held hostage in Iraq, urged people to talk about the missing men instead of staying silent in hopes that will protect them.
Several foreign journalists have died, disappeared or been taken hostage in Syria’s two-year civil war.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.