Al Jazeera reporter dies in crash in Syria

An Al Jazeera reporter died in a crash while covering battles in Syria, the network said Thursday.

Mahran Al Deeri was killed Wednesday in Al Sheikh Maskin in rural Daraa when his vehicle collided with a rebel vehicle while taking cover from government fire, his family members told the channel.

Mostefa Souag, Al Jazeera's acting director general, said in a statement on Al Jazeera's website: "Our martyred colleague Mahran Al Deeri has worked with aljazeera.net for over a year and was known for his courage, bravery and professional coverage of the Syrian revolution in the area of Daraa and its suburbs.

"Targeting journalists will not deter us from reporting the truth which we have been committed to for over 18 years. …Throughout our years of coverage we have lost many colleagues on this mission but our brave journalists are committed to this despite the constant dangers and challenges," Souag said.

Al Deeri, a married father of two, was born in Al Sheikh Maskin in Daraa in 1983, Al Jazeera said. He graduated from Damascus University in 2008, after which he worked for the government news agency SANA. He started working for aljazeera.net, Al Jazeera Arabic's website, as a freelancer in October last year.

Three journalists from Orient News, a Syrian opposition channel, were killed in a missile strike in the same area Monday, media reported.