SYDNEY: Former UFC fighter Suman Mokhtarian was gunned down in a “brazen” shooting while on an early evening walk in Sydney, police said, months after surviving an attempt on his life.
The 33-year-old was shot dead in a “targeted” attack in Riverstone, a suburb in Sydney’s northwest, on Wednesday evening, New South Wales Police said.
A short time after the shooting two cars were found on fire in different locations, a hallmark of recent organized crime hits that have rattled the city.
“It’s very brazen and it’s a shame that this is happening in our community,” NSW Police superintendent Jason Joyce said.
“You’d want to think that in a residential area that people could wander the streets at that time of (early) night and be safe, but we do believe it’s a targeted attack,” he said.
Local media reported that Mokhtarian had survived an attempt on his life last February, when a gunman fired on him outside a gym in Sydney’s west.
He fought twice in the UFC, in 2018 and 2019, losing both times, before moving into coaching, according to ESPN.
He helped develop some of Australia’s top mixed martial arts prospects, the website said.
A local who only identified himself by his first name, Ben, said he was walking with his wife when he heard a gunshot.
“It was around then when we heard a bang as well and a lot of smoke went up in the air... that would have been the car,” he told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“There was a large commotion, a lot of people were just shocked because they’ve never witnessed anything like this.”
“The shooting happened with children literally riding bikes around the park.”
Neighbour Natalie, who also did not provide her last name, said she was out the front of her home with her children when the incident took place.
“I called the police straight away,” she told the national broadcaster ABC.
Natalie said she ran over to see if Mokhtarian was alive, but “he clearly wasn’t.”
“I could immediately tell he wasn’t alive, otherwise I would’ve tried to help him,” she said.
The killing came a day after police foiled a “kill team” bearing firearms, balaclavas, body-worn cameras and jerrycans on the way to a daycare center.
Police are investigating if the two incidents are linked.
![]()
Australian former UFC fighter shot dead in Sydney
Short Url
https://arab.news/2uvxe
Australian former UFC fighter shot dead in Sydney
- Former UFC fighter Suman Mokhtarian was gunned down in a “brazen” shooting while on an early evening walk in Sydney, police said, months after surviving an attempt on his life
Pakistani Taliban kill six soldiers in checkpoint attack
- Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks along its border regions since the Taliban authorities retook control in Kabul in 2021
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Pakistani Taliban militants stormed a security checkpoint in Pakistan’s northwestern border area with Afghanistan, killing six soldiers and wounding four others, a government official said Tuesday.
Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks along its border regions since the Taliban authorities retook control in Kabul in 2021.
It accuses Afghanistan of harboring the insurgents, a claim the Taliban government denies.
Late Monday, more than a dozen armed men attacked the checkpoint, leading to a heavy exchange of fire in Kurram, a tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Six security personnel were martyred and four were injured, while two militants were also killed in the fighting,” the government official posted in Kurram, who was not authorized to speak to the media, told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
The Pakistani Taliban group, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has long been active in the region, and claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan of sheltering TTP militants and allowing them to launch cross-border attacks from there — a charge Kabul denies.
The border between the two countries has been closed since the clashes in October, though Pakistan said last week it would allow UN aid supplies to pass to Afghanistan soon.
The attack comes days after an exchange of gunfire and shelling between Afghan and Pakistani forces at a major border crossing that killed four civilians and one soldier, according to Afghanistan.
Each side accused the other of starting the fighting.
Pakistan has faced a surge in militant attacks along its border regions since the Taliban authorities retook control in Kabul in 2021.
It accuses Afghanistan of harboring the insurgents, a claim the Taliban government denies.
Late Monday, more than a dozen armed men attacked the checkpoint, leading to a heavy exchange of fire in Kurram, a tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Six security personnel were martyred and four were injured, while two militants were also killed in the fighting,” the government official posted in Kurram, who was not authorized to speak to the media, told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
The Pakistani Taliban group, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has long been active in the region, and claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan of sheltering TTP militants and allowing them to launch cross-border attacks from there — a charge Kabul denies.
The border between the two countries has been closed since the clashes in October, though Pakistan said last week it would allow UN aid supplies to pass to Afghanistan soon.
The attack comes days after an exchange of gunfire and shelling between Afghan and Pakistani forces at a major border crossing that killed four civilians and one soldier, according to Afghanistan.
Each side accused the other of starting the fighting.
Latest updates
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.