Barakat, a freelance photographer who
published with Reuters, was killed during a rebel assault on Kindi Hospital, a
regime position in the northern city of Aleppo, The Associated Press reported.
Reuters said
he had submitted dozens
of photos since he started working with the agency in May 2013.
The rebel assault on the hospital, which
rebels said had been turned into a government barracks, began with two suicide
bombers attacking the building, news reports said. The opposition Aleppo Media
Center told AP that Barakat was killed in the fighting while in a nearby carpet
factory. His brother, a rebel fighter, was also killed in the factory. The
Aleppo Media Center later posted
a picture of Barakat’s bloodied camera.
There were conflicting reports
on Barakat’s age,
ranging from 17 to 19. Barb Burg, Reuter’s global head of communications, told
CPJ that Barakat was born on March 8, 1995, making him 18 when he began
submitting photos to Reuters. The same birthdate is listed on his Facebook
profile, according to a screenshot acquired by CPJ. Burg said that he was not
on assignment for Reuters, but he sent photos to the agency on an ad hoc basis.