German news agency photographer killed in Syria airstrike
Shafaq News/ A German News Agency (DPA) photographer, Anas al-Kharboutli, 32, was killed in an airstrike near Hama, Syria, while documenting the civil war.
In a statement, the agency said, "Al-Kharboutli captured the Syrian civil war with a unique visual language."
DPA Editor-in-Chief Sven Gösmann expressed his shock and deep sadness over the loss, stating, "We are all in deep shock and grief over his death. He not only documented the horrors of war with his photos but also worked tirelessly for the truth. Anas remains a model for our work."
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied armed factions launched a surprise offensive last week in northern Syria, capturing Aleppo, the country’s second-largest city, and advancing towards Hama, where intense clashes have erupted between the armed factions and the Syrian army.
Photojournalist Ali Haj Suleiman, who was with al-Kharboutli, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that he saw a plane flying overhead in the town of Mork near Hama as they were waiting for other colleagues, adding, "We heard a very loud noise as we were running. I ran about seven meters, and the blast pressure threw me forward," Suleiman said. "I found Anas lying on the ground, reciting the Shahada and bleeding heavily from a lower limb injury. He died in the ambulance before reaching the hospital."
Al-Kharboutli started his career as a photojournalist in 2015 and joined DPA two years later. He was awarded the "Young Reporter" prize as part of the prestigious Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award for War Correspondents for his coverage of the war in 2020 and won the "Sports" category in the Sony World Photography Awards in 2021.
He was buried in the opposition-held city of Idlib in northwestern Syria. Authorities in Idlib reported that three other journalists from the region have been killed since the offensive began last week.
Furthermore, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported, on Wednesday, that the death toll from eight days of fighting has reached 704 people, including 110 civilians.
