-UPDATED: August 21st, 9:40 AM Video added below of rebels claiming Mika Yamamoto was killed in the name of Bashar al-Assad-
-12:05 PM Mika Yamamoto worked for Japan Press, not Kyodo News-
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that female Japanese journalist Mika Yamamoto, with Kyodo News Japan Press, was killed as a result of confrontations between rebels and soldiers, and three other reporters are listed as missing. Rami Abdel Rahmane, the president of the Syrian Observatory, told AFP that Yamamoto was badly injured on Monday in the district of Suleiman al-Halabi, just east of where the fighting was taking place. She was rushed to a hospital, but unfortunately her injuries proved to be fatal.
Of the three missing journalists, one is from Turkey, while the other two were Arab; one a woman from Lebanon, the other a man reporting for U.S.-based media. Rahmane wasn’t able to provide any additional information about the three, however he said that Yamamoto had most likely been hit by a projectile. A video was uploaded to YouTube by the militants, presenting what they claimed to be the body of the Japanese journalist. It showed a female body lying in a room, with a large injury on her right arm.
The video stated that the woman had been killed by militia pledging allegiance to the troops of President Bashar al-Assad. There was also an Asian-looking man in the video who appeared to be asking for help, but it is unknown who he is at this point. AFP notes that it cannot confirm how authentic the video is or any of the information presented. Should Yamamoto’s death be confirmed by a second news source, she will be the fourth foreign reporter to be killed in Syria since March 2011.
UPDATE: This video of rebels claiming to show Mika Yamamoto’s body was shared with us on our Facebook. To clarify, this video has not been confirmed by AFP or any other news source, and is merely presenting what was shared in the story.
[via Jakarta Globe]