An Italian journalist who went missing in Syria was one of four Italian journalists who had crossed to Malta from Libya in August 2011 after being kidnapped, and later released, by suspected Gaddafi loyalists.

The journalist in question is La Stampa’s Domenico Quirico, who arrived in Syria on 6 April but last made contact in early June.

Since then, he has gone missing. Notified about his absence, the Italian government has been involved to try to find out what happened to him. On Monday evening, the 8pm Rai news once again mentioned Quirico in a news story about the Syrian crisis and the government’s bid to locate him.

The 62-year-old has in the past covered stories in Sudan and Mali, and was also in Libya at the time of the crisis which led to the ousting and later killing of former leader Gaddafi.

In August 2011, at the height of the Libyan crisis, Quirico had been kidnapped with another three Italian journalists – Elisabetta Rosaspina, Giuseppe Sarcina and Claudio Monici – by Gaddafi loyalists. They had been released after a day.

The four Italian journalists had then made their way to Malta on board a small cargo ship carrying a total of 46 evacuees from Libya. The journey had taken 35 hours, and the four Italian journalists had then proceeded to return to Italy.