BEIRUT (REUTERS) - Sniper fire killed a well-known Syrian journalist working for a pro-government television channel near the Lebanese-Syrian border on Monday, the state
news agency said.

Ms Yara Abbas, a reporter for the al-Ikhbariya news channel, was killed near Debaa airport in Homs province. Forces loyal to President Bashar al assad there have been trying to recapture the base from the rebels seeking to oust him.

Syria TV said Ms Abbas, in her mid-twenties, was targeted by"terrorists", the term commonly used by President Assad's supporters to describe the rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition monitoring group, said several members of her television team were also wounded in the attack.

Ms Abbas was a common sight for Syrian television viewers. She frequently reported alongside President Assad's forces from the frontline of Syria's two-year conflict.