Chilling Pictures Taken By The Teenage Photographer Who Was Killed In Syria

Molhem Barakat was a freelance photographer for Reuters covering the fighting in Aleppo.

By
Rachel Zarrell
by Rachel Zarrell

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Photographer Molhem Barakat, who freelanced for Reuters covering the civil war in Syria, died on Friday while photographing a battle between rebels and government loyalists over a hospital.

Stringer / Reuters

According to Reuters, rebels accused government forces of turning the Kindi Hospital into barracks.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

A Free Syrian Army fighter aims his weapon as he takes up a position in Aleppo's Sheikh Saeed neighborhood.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

Hasan (right), an 11-year-old fighter in the Free Syrian Army, distributes tea to his fellow fighters at Aleppo's Karm al-Jabal district.

Besides photographing the violence in Aleppo, many of Barakat's pictures showed the ordinary lives of Syrians living in a war-torn city.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

Hasan feeds a cat along a street in Aleppo's Karm al-Jabal district on Dec. 7.

Reuters confirmed with BuzzFeed that Barakat was 18 years old.

Stringer / Reuters

Mohammad, a 13-year-old fighter from the Free Syrian Army, aims his weapon through a hole in a wall in Aleppo's Bustan al-Basha district on Oct. 28. Mohammad joined the Free Syrian Army after his father died during clashes with the Syrian regime; the gun he is using was his father's.

Photographs Barakat shot for Reuters appeared in publications around the world. These are some of his more recent ones.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

A Free Syrian Army fighter points his weapon as he tries to locate forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the Ramouseh area of Aleppo.

Over 100,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war since 2011.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

A member of the "Liwaa al-Sultan Mrad" brigade, operating under the Free Syrian Army, aims an anti-aircraft weapon in Aleppo's Bustan al-Basha district on Dec. 19.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

A member of the Liwaa al-Sultan Mrad brigade, operating under the Free Syrian Army, holds his weapon as he sits on a chair along a street in Aleppo's Bustan al-Basha district.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

A child reacts as he holds his father's hand after hearing shelling in Aleppo on Nov. 29.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

A fighter from the Tawhid Brigade, which operates under the Free Syrian Army, fires an anti-tank missile in Aleppo.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

Residents look for survivors through damage from an airstrike with explosive barrels from forces loyal to Assad in Aleppo.

Stringer / Reuters

An injured Free Syrian Army fighter reacts on the ground after being hit by a sniper on the front line in Aleppo's Sheikh Saeed neighborhood on Sept. 21.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

A member of Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra stands as he holds his weapon in Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood on Dec. 18.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

Boys warm themselves around a fire inside an old washing machine on Nov. 22.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

Free Syrian Army fighters run down a staircase as they flee a building in fear of an air strike on Aug. 26.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

Residents inspect damage in front of blood stains in Aleppo on Dec. 17.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

A damaged car is seen at a site hit by an airstrike on Dec. 17.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

Smoke rises while residents run after shelling from government forces in Aleppo on Dec. 10.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

Residents look for survivors after an airstrike in the Takeek Al-Bab area of Aleppo on Dec. 15.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

A Free Syrian Army fighter rests near weapons in Aleppo on Dec. 2.

Molhem Barakat / Reuters

A Free Syrian Army fighter runs for cover past piled sandbags to avoid snipers on Nov. 29.

Stringer / Reuters

Fighters from the Tawhid Brigade, which operates under the Free Syrian Army, drag a rocket launcher near the 80th Brigade base in Aleppo on Nov. 13.

Stringer / Reuters

Free Syrian Army fighters carry a fellow fighter who was wounded during clashes with Assad's loyalists near Aleppo International Airport on Nov. 8.

Stringer / Reuters

Free Syrian Army fighters carry their fellow fighter after he was wounded on the front line in Aleppo's Sheikh Saeed neighborhood on Sept. 21.

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