UK journalists 'shelled' by Syrian forces

Posts a video of the attack on her Twitter account

LONDON: A British journalist working for Sky News reported on Thursday that her team was deliberately shelled by Syrian forces, while an activist they were travelling with was hit by shrapnel.

"We were spotted by a military drone and then repeatedly shot at with what we believe were 125mm shells probably fired from a T-72 Russian battle tank," special news correspondent Alex Crawford said on the Sky News website.

Air raids kill 12 civilians in Syrian town: monitor

"As we retreated to leave the area, the targeting of us continued," said the journalist, who was reporting in the militant-dominated northwestern province of Idlib.

She said that one of the Sky crew had press markings on his flak jacket, while the other was carrying a clearly visible green medical trauma pack.

"They were all clear violations of the normal standards of operation in a battle zone," she said, posting a dramatic video of the attack on her Twitter account.

This is the moment Sky News' crew in Idlib was targeted and fired upon by Syrian regime forces.@AlexCrawfordSky says they were attacked with tank shells, as an activist they were travelling with was hit by shrapnel.

Here's her exclusive report: https://t.co/mh7YcQBMS7 pic.twitter.com/ThrIVgqPkR

— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 23, 2019

"Even when we withdrew to the nearby town, Khan Shaykhun, some 10km away, the shelling followed us there and continued."

Rebel activist Bilal Abdul Kareem was hit in the chest by shrapnel, she said.

Syria regime-militant clashes kill 44: monitor

Syrian government aircraft bombed several towns in the region on Thursday, killing eight civilians as troops and militia battled militants on the ground, a monitor said.

The new bombardment of the region of Idlib followed strikes on Tuesday night and on Wednesday that killed 23 civilians, 12 of them at a busy market.