Death toll of attack on Syrian TV climbs to 7: minister

Damascus, June 7 (Xinhua-ANI): Syrian Information Minister said Wednesday that the death toll of attack targeting the pro- government al-Ekhbaria TV climbed to seven.

Armed groups attacked the headquarters of al-Ekhbaria TV in a suburban area of the Syrian capital of Damascus earlier in the day.

Omran al-Zoubi made the remarks during a sit-in in front of the official Syrian TV Corporation in Damascus, which was held by hundreds of local journalists to protest against the deadly assault on al-Ekhbariya TV.

Zoubi said the assault, which took place at 4:30 a.m.(GMT 0130), has left unspecified number of al-Ekhbariya TV staffers wounded, adding that several others were kidnapped by the attackers.

"The EU sanctions were imposed on Syria yesterday and they have been actually implemented today at the expense of the civilians and journalists' spirits," he said.

Elias Murad, head of the Journalism Federation in Syria, said the attack targeted the "free word, reality and freedom."

"It's a flagrant and unprecedented attack," he said. (Xinhua-ANI)