Family Of U.S. Reporter Sues Syria Over Her Death In Homs

The family of prominent U.S. reporter Marie Colvin, who died in the Syrian city of Homs in 2012, is suing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over her death.

Relatives say they have evidence that the Syrian regime deliberately killed Colvin by launching rocket attacks against a clandestine media center where Colvin and other reporters were based to silence her reporting on the civilian casualties in the besieged city of Homs.

The lawsuit, filed at a district court in Washington D.C., is based on information from captured government documents and high-level defectors. It names several Syrian officials, including Assad's brother Maher.

It alleges that the Syrian military intercepted Colvin’s communication from the media center. After an informant confirmed Colvin’s presence at the site, Syrian artillery units "deliberately launched salvos of rockets and mortars directly at the improvised media center.

Colvin, a celebrated correspondent for the Sunday Times in London, covered many of the world's bloodiest conflicts while highlighting the plight of civilians.

Based on reporting by The Washington Post and AFP