French Journalist Killed in Syria

Gilles Jacquier was on a government-sponsored tour of Homs when he and eight Syrians died in a rocket attack.

A French journalist was killed today in a rocket attack in the Syrian city of Homs. Gilles Jacquier, a reporter for the France 2 television network, was with a group of journalists on a government-sponsored tour through Homs when a rocket struck the vehicle he was in. Eight Syrians were killed in the attack, and another journalist was injured alongside Jacquier. His death marks the first time a journalist has been killed in Syria since a popular uprising began last March. Since an Arab League monitoring mission entered Syria on Dec. 27, at least 400 people have been killed. All told, more than 5,000 people – about 1,500 soldiers (including defectors) and 3,500 civilians – have died in the uprising.