Topic - Abdelbaset Sarout

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This photo posted and provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Civil Defense workers searching for victims under the rubble after an airstrike by Syrian government forces hit the village of Ehsim, in Jabal al-Zawiya, some 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the town of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib, Syria, Monday, June 3, 2019. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said on Monday that Syrian troops had reached Qassaibyeh, a village deep within the last rebel stronghold in the northwest province of Idlib, after intense clashes with militants. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP)

Syrian soccer goalie who became rebel icon dies in battle

By SARAH EL DEEB - Associated Press

In this Feb. 13, 2014 image made from amateur video posted by Shaam News Network (SNN), an anti-Bashar Assad activist group, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, revolutionary goalkeeper Abdelbasit Sarout chants slogans during a demonstration in Homs, Syria. He began as a local hero on the soccer field, playing for the most popular team of his home city Homs and rising toward national stardom across Syria. But when the uprising against President Bashar Assad began, Sarout left all of it to lead peaceful protests, rallying thousands to demand Assad leave power. More than three years later, the former goalkeeper - now an armed fighter - has become a charismatic icon of the Syria’s rebellion. (AP Photo/Shaam News Network via AP video)

Syrian soccer goalie-turned-rebel becomes icon

By BARBARA SURK - Associated Press