Syrian activist survives IS assassination

Three shots have been fired in a failed assassination attempt on a Syrian independent media activist in Turkey.

A Syrian independent media activist working in southeast Turkey has survived an assassination attempt which was claimed by the Islamic State group.

Ahmed Abdelqader, founder of the Syrian media group Eye on Homeland, was shot on Sunday afternoon by two gunmen riding a motorbike in the city of Sanliurfa.

Eye on Homeland, which disseminates news about Syria on its website and radio station, issued a statement saying three shots had been fired in the failed assassination attempt.

Fellow Syrian activist Abu Ibrahim of the monitoring group Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently says Abdelqader was "hospitalised, in a stable condition".

Another colleague, who requested anonymous for fear of his safety, said the gunmen had used silencers. The gunmen escaped.

The Islamic State-linked Amaq News Agency said IS militants had staged the attack on Abdelqader, formerly a member of RBSS.

Abdelqader's brother, Ibrahim, was one of two Syrian activists slain by IS operatives in Sanliurfa in October 2015. The second was Fares Hamadi.

IS claimed responsibility for last year's killings in a video message warning that "every apostate will be slaughtered silently".

The Syrian activist groups RBSS and Eye on Homeland regularly report on IS activities in Syria drawing on their network of local contacts.


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Source: AAP


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