Fairfax Media has issued an apology for using a picture of the wrong man on three of its front pages today in articles about the teenage terror-suspect shot by police.

The image of the unidentified man ran in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times under headlines including “Teen Jihad” and “Teen’s act of terror”, claiming it was 18-year-old terror suspect Numan Haider who was killed by police on Tuesday night.

In a statement on its websites Fairfax issued an “unreserved apology” for the error saying: “One of the photographs run on this website and Fairfax papers in relation to the death of Numan Haider was published in error. The young man in a suit was not Mr Haider, and we unreservedly apologise to him for the error.”

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The apology went on to state that the man in the suit had no links to any extremist or terrorism groups and that the online article had been taken down. It is understood that the print edition is not being withdrawn from sale.

“The young man has no connection whatsoever with any extremist or terrorist group and we deeply regret any such inference arising from the publication of the photograph,” said the newspaper.

“The picture has been withdrawn from circulation.”

Further comment is being sought from Fairfax Media.

The blunder follows that of the New Zealand Herald in July which ran a tribute story about an NZ-born Israeli soldier accompanied by a photograph of late comedian Ryan Dunn.

Nic Christensen