Syria blames rebels for journalist's death

AAA??Aug. 23, 2012?8:22 AM ET
Syria blames rebels for journalist's death
AP

This image made from video provided by the Azaz Media Counsel and accessed on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, purports to show the body of Japanese journalist Mika Yamamoto, who was killed in Aleppo, Syria. In Aleppo, a Japanese TV reporter was killed Monday while covering the fighting in Syria's largest city. She was the first foreign journalist to die in the city since clashes between rebels and regime forces erupted there almost a month ago.(AP Photo/Azaz Media Counsel via AP video) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS NO WAY OF INDEPENDENTLY VERIFYING THE CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS PICTURE.

This image made from video provided by the Azaz Media Counsel and accessed on Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2012, purports to show the body of Japanese journalist Mika Yamamoto, who was killed in Aleppo, Syria. In Aleppo, a Japanese TV reporter was killed Monday while covering the fighting in Syria's largest city. She was the first foreign journalist to die in the city since clashes between rebels and regime forces erupted there almost a month ago.(AP Photo/Azaz Media Counsel via AP video) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS NO WAY OF INDEPENDENTLY VERIFYING THE CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS PICTURE.

Syrian girl, Sana Mustafa, 5, who fled her home in Anadan with her family due to fighting between the rebels and the Syrian army, talks with her brother Riyyad, in a school where she and her family took refuge, in Kafar Hamra, on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

A Syrian man smokes a cigarette sitting next to the rubble of a damaged mosque in the city of Azaz, on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

A Syrian boy, who fled his home with his family in Anadan due to fighting between the rebels and the Syrian army, steps on a poster showing Syrian president Bashar Assad in a school where he and his family took refuge, in Kafar Hamra, on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

A Syrian man, who fled his home in Anadan due to fighting between the rebels and the Syrian army, steps on a poster showing Syrian President Bashar Assad, in a school where he and his family took refuge, in Kafar Hamra, on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) ? A senior Syrian official has denied rebel claims that a Japanese journalist who died in the northern city of Aleppo this week was killed by government troops.

Veteran Japanese war correspondent Mika Yamamoto on Monday became the first foreign journalist to die in Aleppo since clashes between rebels and regime forces erupted there almost a month ago.

Rebels have said she was killed by regime forces. Japan's Foreign Ministry said she was hit by gunfire while traveling with rebels from the Free Syrian Army.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad said Thursday that journalists who behave in an "irresponsible" way should expect all kinds of possibilities.

He says Yamamoto was killed by "armed groups" to frame the Syrian army.

Mekdad spoke to journalists in the Syrian capital.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-08-23-ML-Syria/id-3944db4c69ed4d0ca0ebbebf70d76685

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