He and a Syrian Army official were killed in a rocket attack by so-called Islamic State militants near a village called Bghailiyah, in Homs province, according to the head of RT Arabic’s office in Damascus, Abdelhameed Tawfiq.
Khaled Alkhateb was just 25 years old and had recently started to work with RT.
“Today RT Arabic lost a young colleague, journalist Khaled Alkhateb. This is very painful news for all of us,” the head of RT Arabic, Maya Manna, said in a statement.
Saying that Khaled had just recently become a stringer for RT Arabic, Manna added that he had been on assignment to cover the Syrian Army fighting IS in the Homs region.
“This morning, together with soldiers of the Syrian Army, he was heading to the town of al-Sukhnah, where heavy fighting is currently underway to free it. On their way there, not far from Homs, the convoy was attacked by IS militants,” she explained.
“We express our condolences to family and friends of Khaled, and will support them in any way possible. We thank Khaled for his courage and bravery,” Manna said.
Khaled’s father, Gasan Alkhateb, told RT his son loved his work and was always ready to risk his life for the sake of telling the truth.