ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdish journalist Deniz Firat, whose reports from various Kurdish frontlines had shed light on conditions on the ground, was killed over the weekend while covering the fighting in Makhmour, south of Erbil.
She died after being hit in the chest by a mortar shrapnel in Kurdish fighting with the Islamic State (IS) armies, said the Firat News Agency (ANF), for which she reported.
Firat had been embedded with the fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), who rushed from their mountain base of Qandil to repel the IS attacks on a refugee camp in Makhmour.
She had reported from various frontlines in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan), Rabia and other parts of Kurdistan. Her coverage had appeared on several Kurdish news outlets, among them Sterk TV, Med Nuce and Ronahi TV.
“Media workers must be protected in all circumstances,” ANF said in a statement.
Firat was said to have had relatives in the Makhmour camp that was set up for family members of the PKK two decades ago.
“ANF vows to remain loyal to the memory of Deniz and continue to provide information about the developments in the region,” the ANF statement said.
