DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — Syrian journalist Mudur Al Saad was always saying, “We live in danger at Sanliurfa.” Recently he was attacked by two unidentified men wearing masks. He was beaten with iron bars and seriously injured. No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

This wasn’t the first attack against Syrian journalists within the past year. On Oct. 30, police acted on a tip and went to a house in Sanliurfa’s Ataturk neighborhood. They found two beheaded young men. Police were mystified until the identities and profession of the victims were discovered. They were Ibrahim Abdulkadir, editor of Arabic-language Al Watan newspaper, and its reporter Firaz Hamadi. The Sanliurfa-based newspaper was printed for Syrian opposition supporters. Friends said the two journalists had been receiving threats from Islamic State (IS). A short time later, IS claimed responsibility.

On Dec. 27, journalist Naji Jerf was murdered, this time in Gaziantep. Jerf, who had been threatened by IS, was shot and killed on the street. Jerf, renowned for his documentaries against IS, was the editor of the journal Hentah. He was killed with a silenced gun when he was out to buy food for this children and wife. Three suspects were detained.

Four months later, Syrian journalist Muhammad Zahir Al Sherkay was targeted in Gaziantep. The correspondent for Aleppo Today was shot by masked men and badly wounded. He died in the hospital.