Dutch photojournalist killed by 'ISIS sniper' in Libya

Jeroen Oerlemans had been reporting on fighting between government and Islamic State troops.

By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: OCTOBER 3, 2016 01:49
Libya Dawn fighters fire an artillery cannon at IS militants near Sirte. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Libya Dawn fighters fire an artillery cannon at IS militants near Sirte.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
AMSTERDAM - Dutch photojournalist Jeroen Oerlemans has been shot dead by a sniper in Sirte, Libya, according to a report on Sunday on the website of the Belgian newspaper he had been working for.
Knack said it had been informed of Oerlemans' killing by the journalist with whom he was on assignment. The paper did not say when Oerlemans had been killed, but said he had been wearing a bullet proof vest.
Oerlemans had been reporting on fighting between government and Islamic State troops.
Meanwhile, an official from a hospital in nearby Misrata, where pro-government forces are treated, told AFP that Oerleman had been “shot in the chest by an IS[IS] sniper while covering battles in Sirte.”
In 2012 Oerlemans was briefly kidnapped by Islamic radicals in Syria, along with Briton John Cantlie, but both were rescued by the Free Syrian Army.