Abu al-Burghul, an editor for the state-owned daily Al-Thawra and host on the state-owned Radio Damascus, was shot in the head by unidentified gunmen on December 30, 2011, in his home in the Damascus suburb of Darya, according to several news reports. He died of his injuries in hospital four days later.

The journalist, 56, had been working as a state reporter for over three decades. According to the state-owned television broadcaster, Abu al-Burghul was shot by "armed terrorist groups." Over the past nine months of unrest in Syria, the government has routinely blamed killings, unrest, and other violent acts on armed terrorist groups but has failed to provide evidence in support of these claims.