Sniper Kills Syrian Journalist from Pro-Government TV

Yara Abbas, a reporter for the al-Ikhbariya news channel, is seen in this undated handout photo distributed to Reuters by Syria's National News Agency SANA on May 27, 2013.

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.

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 Abbas, in her mid-twenties, was targeted by "terrorists," the term commonly used by Assad 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.

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