Kurdish reporters killed in eastern Syria

Two Kurdish reporters killed on duty by car bombings in eastern Syria

Beirut, October 16, 2017–Kurdish journalists Dilshan Ibash and Hawker Faisal Mohammed died from injuries sustained during October 12 suicide car bomb attacks that occurred in the eastern Syrian village of Abu Fas, where the two reporters were covering civilian displacement, according to their employer, Hawar News Agency, and the Syrian Journalists Association.Ibash died at the scene of the attack on the Al-Kharafi road that links the Syrian cities of Al-Hasaka and Deir Ezzor. Mohammed died the next day at a hospital in the city of Qamishli of severe head injuries sustained during the blast, Hassan Ramo, editor-in-chief of the Hawar News Agency, told CPJ.

Old Bridge above the Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor,... — Old Bridge above the Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor, Syria (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rizgar Deniz, a third journalist from Hawar News Agency, which is affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces, was injured in the blast, according to Ramo.

Two people affiliated with the militant group Islamic State carried out the attacks, which left at least 15 civilians dead, not including the two journalists, and at least 100 injured, the Harwa News Agency reported.

Ramo told CPJ that the suicide bombers targeted a gathering of civilians.

“The deaths of Dilshan Ibash and Hawker Faisal Mohammed are a tragic reminder of the risks journalists continue to face when reporting on the Syrian conflict,” CPJ Middle East and North Africa Coordinator Sherif Mansour said from Washington D.C. “We urge all sides to guarantee the safety of all civilians, including journalists.”

Ibash joined the Rojava-based Hawar News Agency around the end of 2015 after working for several years as a war correspondent for the radio station the Voice of Kobane.

Mohammed had been working for the agency for two months at the time of his death.

At least 111 journalists have been killed in Syria since fighting began there in 2011, according CPJ research.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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