A Beirut-based satellite television channel said that one of its cameramen was killed on Saturday while covering the fighting in eastern Syria.

Omar Abdel Qader, who was killed in Deir Ezzor, worked for the privately owned Al-Mayadeen station which supports the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The cameraman was born on March 8, 1987 and died on his 27th birthday.

Media watchdogs have called Syria, where a war has been raging for nearly three years, the deadliest place in the world for journalists.

"The cameraman Omar Abdel Qader, our colleague in Al-Mayadeen, was killed," said the channel, adding that he lost his life while covering clashes between regime forces and rebels in Deir Ezzor province.

In a telephone interview, a Syrian army officer told the broadcaster Abdel Qader died in hospital after he was "shot in the neck by a sniper from a distance".

In a phone interview with Al-Mayadeen, his sister described him as a "hero," adding: "He was always on the front lines."

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), 27 professional journalists have been killed while covering the war in Syria. Dozens more have been kidnapped or jailed.

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