Anadolu Agency journalist killed in Idlib airstrike

IDLIB, Syria

An Anadolu Agency freelance journalist was killed in a Russian airstrike in Idlib province in northwestern Syria on Sunday, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency.

Anas Diab, a 22-year-old freelance journalist and rescuer with the White Helmets, was killed while reporting Russian airstrikes on his hometown of Khan Sheikhun.

“Diab was doing his journalistic duty in very dangerous areas,” Mustafa Haj Youssef, the White Helmets director in Idlib, told Anadolu Agency.

“He was working to take the voice of Idlib and Syria to the whole world,” he said.

Last year, Diab was injured in a Syrian regime airstrike and was dispatched to Turkey for medical treatment.

Regime forces and Russian warplanes intensified attacks on de-escalation zones in northern Syria in recent days.

Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression would be expressly prohibited.

The regime, however, has consistently broken the terms of the ceasefire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.