ISTANBUL (AP) – A Syrian journalist who was shot in the Turkish city of Gaziantep in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group died from his wounds Tuesday, a close friend said.
The death of Halab Today TV presenter Mohammed Zahir al-Sherqat marks the fourth assassination of a Syrian journalist in Turkey claimed by the extremist group.
Sherqat, who was shot in the neck from close range on Sunday while walking on a street, died in a hospital in Gaziantep near the Syrian border, according to his friend Barry Abdulattif, a Syrian activist.
Friends told the AP that the journalist had received death threats as recently as two months ago from IS extremists.
IS claimed the attack on Monday via the IS-affiliated Aamaq news agency, which said Sherqat “used to present anti-Islamic State programs.”