Omran Daqneesh (, born 2011) is a Syrian boy who, at age five, gained media attention after footage of him injured appeared on the Internet following a reported air strike. His father said the blood on Omran's face came from his own wounds, which dripped onto Omran. The apartment building collapsed shortly after the family was rescued. Eight people died in the air strike, including five children. The footage was released by the Aleppo Media Centre, a Syrian opposition activist group. Photojournalist Mahmoud Raslan, who photographed Daqneesh, and journalist Mustafa al-Sarout, who filmed him, both spoke to Western media about the iconic photo. Russia Today interviewed Sara Flounders of the International Action Center who said that Raslan's social media suggested previous support for rebel group Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement.
The image of him sitting bloodied in an ambulance after being dragged from the rubble of his home On Swiss television, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said the image of Omran was "a forged picture, not a real one". His father also criticized rebel groups in Aleppo for attempting to exploit his family as propaganda to push for regime-change.
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