Press TV
September 26, 2012, in Damascus, Syria

Iran's Press TV reported that Naser, one of its correspondents, was killed by sniper fire while covering two explosions near military headquarters in Damascus that were followed by intense fighting between government forces and the rebel Free Syrian Army.

The sniper fire also wounded Hussein Mortada, Press TV's Damascus bureau chief, the state-run station reported.

The Free Syrian Army claimed responsibility for the explosions, although it issued no immediate statement in regard to the journalists, news reports said. Press TV blamed the journalist's death on "Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, who provide weapons and militants to kill civilians," according to a statement on its website.

Naser, 33, was a Syrian national who lived in Damascus and wrote regularly on his own blog, according to news reports. The journalist was seen as sympathetic to the regime and, on his blog, had blamed the war in the country on the "West and Al-Qaeda," news reports said. In one of his last dispatches for Press TV, he reported on the opposition parties meeting in Damascus in late September, news report said.

Medium:Television
Job:Broadcast Reporter
Beats Covered:Politics, War
Gender:Male
Local or Foreign:Local
Freelance:No
Type of Death:Crossfire/Combat-Related
Suspected Source of Fire:Unknown Fire

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