News / Turkey

Syrian anti-Daesh journalist shot in Turkey

Sunday, 10 April 2016 9:26 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 10 April 2016 9:25 PM ]

A Syrian journalist lies on the ground after being shot in the head in Turkey’s Gaziantep province on April 10, 2016 (Hurriyet Daily News)

A Syrian anti-Daesh journalist has been shot and critically wounded in Turkey’s southeastern province of Gaziantep.

Muhammed Zahir al-Sherkat was shot in the head on Sunday by a masked assailant in the province’s Değirmiçem region.

Police have opened an investigation into the incident, which was caught on the security camera of a nearby shop.

In the footage the gunman can be seen approaching Sherkat from behind and swiftly leaving the area after firing at the victim from close range.

The 36-year-old, who hails from Syria’s northwestern Aleppo province, was taken to hospital and is currently in a critical condition.

According to Turkey’s Dogan news agency, the reporter had previously received death threats from Daesh, which has claimed responsibility for the killings of several other journalists in Turkey.

In December, a prominent Syrian journalist and documentary maker known for his anti-Daesh films was assassinated by the Takfiri group in Turkey’s Southeastern Anatolia region.

Naji Jerf, the editor-in-chief of the Hentah monthly, was shot in the head with a silenced handgun near the Syrian border in Gaziantep

Daesh also claimed responsibility for the October killings of journalists Ibrahim Abdelkader and Fares Hamadi who were found beheaded in Turkey’s southern region of Şanlıurfa.

The Takfiri terrorist group has seized parts of Iraq and Syria, where it carries out the bulk of its activities. It has been engaged in bloody acts of terrorism against people of all communities in the areas under its control.

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