Iran Alleges Foul Play By Turkey In The Death Of Woman Journalist Near Kobani

Iran has accused foul play in the death of a woman TV journalist who was reporting for an Iranian TV channel in Turkey. It pointed a finger at Turkey over the death of Serena Shim, a Lebanese-American journalist, who was killed in a car crash last Sunday. She was working for Iran's Press TV in Turkey and was on a reporting assignment at the ISIS besieged Syrian border town of Kobani.

Mysterious Car Crash

The TV journalist was killed when her car collided with a heavy vehicle, the Turkish media reported. At the time of the accident, Shim was returning to her hotel after the reporting work from the Turkish city of Suruç. The identity and whereabouts of the truck driver are still unknown. The journalist was in Turkey to report the ISIS seige of the Kurd town Kobani in Syria bordering Turkey. Hundreds of journalists have converged to be within the sight of the Syrian town bordering Turkey, where Kurdish forces are fighting the invading ISIS fighters, reports Truth Seeker.

Harassed By Intelligence

A Press TV spokesman, Ali Rizk, in Beirut said there are many doubts over the circumstances in which Shim was killed. She arrived in Turkey 10 days before her death and had been closely monitored by Turkish intelligence. Hamid Reza Emadi, the head of Press TV's newsroom in Turkey, told an English-language channel that death is a mystery and caused doubts as a pre-meditated one. It looked like a retaliation for her "critical expository reports concerning the adverse impact of Turkish and Saudi policies on Syrian refugees," he said.

Ali Rizk, in Beirut told The Daily Star that she had messaged last week that Turkey's intelligence personnel visited her hotel and tried to collect information about her background and keeping a close watch on her movements. He said the very fact that the truck driver, who collided with the woman journalist's car has disappeared, intensified the concerns.

However, the charges were denied by a Turkish Foreign Ministry official, which said the ministry had no information on the case. Izzettin Kucuk, governor of Sanliurfa province, also rejected the allegations. He dismissed them as unfounded, saying an investigation is underway to bring out the truth.

Turkey-ISIS Ties

Press TV head Emadi recalled that Shim had called her seniors two days before her death and complained about the harassment by Turkish security forces, who were telling the locals that she was a spy. Days before her death, Shim had also claimed that she has gathered evidence that Turkish trucks are stealthily crossing the border to bring aid to the Islamic State fighters.

Turkey is facing heavy influx of Syrian refugees, displaced by the Islamic State attacks. Despite denials by Turkey, rumours are strong among the Kurds that Turkey is helping the Sunni led ISIS militants. Ali Larijani, Iran's parliamentary speaker, last month had called for close monitoring of Turkey's role in Syria, as it was turning very dangerous.