The reporter was travelling in a vehicle with two security officers of the Syrian armed forces, who were also killed in the bomb explosion, when returning from a counter narcotics operation in Daraa province, near the Jordanian border, Syrian News Agency reported.
Al-Ahmad is the first journalist to be killed in Syria so far in 2023.
The IFJ-affiliate, the Syrian Journalists Union (SJU), issued a statement denouncing “the killing of reporter Firas Al-Ahmad, when a team of journalists were targeted with an explosive device”.
The union called on international and regional press organisations and associations to condemn the act and to ensure that criminals and their supporters do not go unpunished.
The IFJ Deputy General Secretary Tim Dawson said: “We are deeply saddened by the killing of TV reporter Firas al-Ahmad. More protection is needed at the international level to ensure that journalists and media workers are not targeted in areas of armed conflict. This is why the IFJ is campaigning for a new international convention that enhances journalists’ safety. The targeting of journalists is a war crime that cannot be tolerated.
UPDATE 10.08.2023 A previous version of the IFJ statement mentioned that Syrian News TV cameraman, Ahmed al-Masalmeh, was present at the scene but he survived the attack, according to the Syrian News Agency. However, the mentioned source removed this information from their statement.