Un Condemns Killing Of Anadolu Agency Journalist İn Syria

The United Nations on Friday condemned the killing of Anadolu Agency photojournalist Saleh Mahmoud Laila in a Daesh suicide attack in Syria.



"The UN stands behind the right of all journalists to go about their work without fear of harassment," UN spokesman Farhan Haq told Anadolu Agency.



He added that Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for international solidarity in the fight against Daesh.



Laila was killed Thursday in a Daesh car bomb attack in the opposition-held town of Huraytan, north of Aleppo. 



The attack at a marketplace killed at least 20 victims, according to local civil defense sources.



Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also condemned the attack and offered condolences to Laila's family and colleagues at Anadolu Agency.



"With his photos and stories, Saleh Mahmoud Laila has helped the tragedy in the region and the victims' voices reach the world," Davutoglu said.



Laila, 27, had survived an airstrike by regime forces last July in al-Zahraa, a town in Aleppo, suffering multiple burns.



He had been sent to Turkey for treatment and later returned to Aleppo to cover the conflict.



Syria's devastating civil war, now in its fifth year, has claimed more than 250,000 lives, according to UN figures, and caused a security vacuum that paved the way for extremist groups such as Daesh to gain a foothold in the region. - New York