Syria Conflict: Three Journalists Killed In Missile Attack

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Three journalists of Syrian opposition TV channel, Orient News were killed while covering clashes in the country’s south-west, reports say. BBC has the report:

A missile hit their vehicle while they traveled to Sheikh Miskeen in Deraa province, Orient News told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

The channel said it believed they were directly targeted by government forces. More than 70 journalists have been killed while covering the conflict in Syria over the past three years. The vast majority of them are local reporters, according to the CPJ.

Orient News said correspondents Rami Asmi and Yousef El-Dous and cameraman Salem Khalil had been on their way to Sheikh Miskeen on Monday to report on recent rebel advances, following weeks of fighting in the area, when their car was hit by a guided missile.

Minutes before they were killed they had driven past government forces in the village of Qarfa, from where the missile was launched, it added.

The car was not marked as a press vehicle, but Orient News said it was identifiable because it was carrying a satellite dish almost 1.8m (6ft) in diameter.