33-year-old Syrian journalist killed on air while covering blasts

33-year-old Maya Naser, a journalist who works for the Iranian Press TV, was killed Wednesday while covering on air the twin blasts that struck the Syrian military command headquarters. Naser, a Syrian national, was shot down by a sniper bullet, while the chief of the Damascus bureau of the Iranian al-Alam TV, Hussain Murtada, also suffered injuries during the coverage. In a TV grab posted on the Press TV website, Naser was reporting via phone while the clashes that erupted after the blasts were raging on before his phone gave a long beep and later his colleague went on air to announce that Naser was shot in the neck. The killing of Naser unleashed a wave of anger among journalists who shared his photo on their Facebook pages under the banner “stop killing journalists.” Meanwhile, the Press TV held “Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, who provide weapons and militants to kill civilians, military personnel and journalists, responsible for killing Maya,” Press TV ‘s News Room Director Hamid Reza Emadi said. “Press TV will pursue the matter of the murder of Maya and would not let those who killed the correspondent feel like they can kill the media people and get away with it,” the Press TV quoted Emadi as saying. Naser studied political science at KUPLAN University in New York. He had worked in many countries including the USA, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Bahrain, according to the Press TV records.