Olivier Voisin Dead: French Photographer Dies After Syria Shelling

French freelance photographer Olivier Voisin has died after suffering severe wounds in a shelling in Syria, France's foreign ministry announced on Sunday.

"We confirm his death," a ministry spokeswoman said. Voisin sustained shrapnel wounds to his head and arm after a shell exploded in Idlib in northern Syria on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. He underwent surgery at a hospital in Antakya, Turkey on Friday.

His last letter — sent to his friend and foreign correspondent Mimosa Martin — was published to his Facebook wall, and detailed some of his experiences in Syria.

France 24 reported that Voisin provided the AFP with about a dozen pictures from Aleppo in January. Some of his work from Syria is on Facebook, and his website. He also covered events in Libya, Somalia, Brazil, Haiti, Kenya and the United States.

Syria is one of — if not the most — deadliest countries in the world for journalists. Twenty-eight journalists died in 2012, while others remain held captive. The grave risk has led at least one newspaper to stop accepting work from Syria, explaining that "the dangers of operating there are too great."