Natouf was killed during government shelling
of the Damascus suburb of Moadamyat al-Sham, according to his employer, Sana al-Thawra, and news reports. He was filming government shelling
in a residential area near the neighborhood mosque when he was hit by rocket
fire, the Moadamyat al-Sham Media Center reported on its Facebook
page.
Natouf was a reporter and videographer for Sana al-Thawra (Syrian Arab
News Agency of the Revolution), the rival pro-opposition news agency to the
pro-government Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). The agency provides news and
reports from around the country and covers the conflict, politics, clashes, and
protests. Its broadcasts are picked up by several regional news outlets
including Al-Jazeera.
Natouf was also a contributor to the local
media collective, the Moadamyat Al-Sham Media Center, a group of
opposition citizen journalists who cover the Syrian revolution in Moadamyat
al-Sham and publish unattributed videos online. The center has published
hundreds of videos and reached almost a million views since the establishment
of its YouTube
channel in September 2012.
The Moadamyat Al-Sham Media Center posted a
video
on its Facebook page that it said was taken by Natouf the day he died. The
video captured the explosion of a building after a rocket attack.