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Two Western journalists were killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday when shells hit the house they were staying in, opposition activists and witnesses said.

They were named as Marie Colvin, an American working for Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, and French photographer Remi Ochlik.

A witness told Reuters by phone that shells hit the house where the journalists were staying and a rocket hit them as they were escaping.

Both were veteran reporters of wars in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Colvin gave an interview by telephone to Britain's ITN news on Tuesday in which she said the Syrian shelling of Baba Amro was "merciless".

"The Syrians are not allowing anyone to leave, anyone who gets on the street, if they're not hit by a shell they are sniped; there are snipers all around Baba Amro. I think the sickening things is the completely merciless nature, they are hitting civilian buildings absolutely mercilessly and without caring and the scale of it is just shocking," Colvin said.