World News

Dave M. Benett/Getty Images(PARIS) -- A U.S. and a French journalist were killed in the central Syrian city of Homs on Wednesday, the 19th day of intense shelling by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad bent on quashing a growing opposition.

The deaths of American Marie Colvin and Frechman Remi Ochlik were confirmed by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe.  They come less than a week after New York Times correspondent Anthony Shadid died in northern Syria from an apparent asthma attack and a day after well-known Syrian opposition journalist Rami al-Sayed died in Homs.

A Long Island native, Colvin wrote for the British Sunday Times.  Like Shadid, she was considered one of the best foreign correspondents in the world, covering global conflicts for decades.  Ochlik was a freelance photographer who recently won a 2012 World Press Photo prize for a photo from the Libyan revolution.

In a statement, the editor of the Sunday Times called Colvin an "extraordinary figure."

"She believed profoundly that reporting could curtail the excesses of brutal regimes and make the international community take notice," John Witherow wrote.  "Above all, as we saw in her powerful report last weekend, her thoughts were with the victims of violence."

Colvin and Ochlik were in a house in the Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs, the district hit hardest by what residents have described as almost three weeks of relentless shelling that has left hundreds dead.  Video posted to YouTube purported to show their bodies in a house destroyed by tank shelling.

Activists say 10 Syrians were also killed and three other journalists were injured, including Colvin's photographer Paul Conroy, who the Times believes is "not too seriously hurt."

Colvin filed a report for the BBC on Tuesday, saying Baba Amr and its residents are besieged.

"It's absolutely sickening," she said. "The Syrians will not let them out, and are shelling all the civilian areas.  There's just shells, rockets and tank fire pouring into civilian areas of this city.  It is just unrelenting."

Colvin lost an eye from a shrapnel wound in Sri Lanka in 2001, an injury that she said "is worth it" in a 2010 speech on the dangers of conflict reporting.

"Covering a war means going to places torn by chaos, destruction, and death...and trying to bear witness," she said at a memorial for fallen journalists.  Someone has to go there and see what is happening.  You can't get that information without going to places where people are being shot at, and others are shooting at you."

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

ABC News(NEW YORK) -- An alleged Iranian hit squad used $27 portable radios to hide at least five bombs that Israeli and American authorities say they intended to use against Israeli targets in Bangkok, Thailand.

Exclusive photos of one undetonated bomb, obtained by ABC News, show the inside of the radio packed with tiny ball bearings and six magnets.  Bomb experts say the magnets indicate the bomb was designed to be stuck to the side of a vehicle.

A surveillance photo of one of the alleged hit squad members, identified as an Iranian national named Saeid Moradi, shows him holding a radio in each hand.

According to authorities, a bomb exploded in the Bangkok house where Moradi and two other Iranians had been staying.  After the blast, Moradi attempted to hail a cab.  When the driver refused to pick him up, he allegedly threw a grenade, injuring four bystanders.

When police approached, Moradi allegedly threw another grenade, but lost both of his legs when it bounced back and exploded near him, according to Thai authorities.  He was arrested following the incident and remains in custody in Thailand.

After the attack, police say they discovered two unexploded bombs in the house where Moradi and the other Iranians had been staying, including the one shown in the photos.

The authorities in Bangkok say they recovered more than a pound of white military explosive from one unexploded bomb that they said was to be detonated with an M26 hand grenade fuse.  The photos show a pin that when pulled, authorities said, would trigger an explosion about four and a half seconds after it was pulled.

[CLICK HERE TO SEE THE EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS]

Israeli authorities and U.S. bomb experts say the bomb in the photos is strikingly similar to those used in other attacks last week in the republic of Georgia and India.  "While there are small differences," said one U.S. expert, "they appear to be factory made."

Multiple authorities told ABC News the devices were either slipped through airport security or were smuggled in a diplomatic pouch, which are not screened by security.

A magnetic bomb was discovered attached to the car of an Israeli diplomat in Tbilisi, Georgia and a similar device was believed responsible for the attack in New Delhi, which injured the wife of an Israeli diplomat, her driver and two passing motorists.

Iran has denied any connection with the arrests in Bangkok or to the other attacks.

Yoram Cohen, the head of Israeli's internal security service, Shin Bet, told an audience at a closed forum in Tel Aviv recently that Iran is trying to hit Israeli targets because of what it believes are Israeli attacks that have killed at least five scientists in its nuclear program.

What concerns authorities in the U.S. is that should Israel go to war with Iran, Israeli and Jewish targets in the U.S. could be hit by similar bombs in a terror campaign. 

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images(KABUL, Afghanistan) -- Afghanistan's president wants his government to start direct talks with the Taliban in an effort to end the 10-year-long war that appears to have reached a stalemate.

In a statement issued by his office Tuesday, Hamid Karzai said, "In order to realize the objectives of the peace process, I invite the leadership of the Taliban to engage in direct talks with the Afghan government."

Since Karzai's administration was installed seven years ago, the Taliban has refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, vowing to take back the country after its regime was deposed following the October 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

At the moment, officials from the Taliban -- the al-Qaeda linked group responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. and allied troops, and which sheltered Osama bin Laden during the planning and execution of the 9/11 attacks -- have set up an office in Qatar to communicate with the Obama administration. The two sides are reportedly working on a prisoner swap that would be a precursor to more serious talks about a peace process to end the long conflict.

Karzai made the announcement after conferring with President Obama by phone, who welcomed the news, according to State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

However, in order for discussions with the Taliban to get underway, Karzai must first gain the cooperation of Pakistan, where militia leaders have taken refuge since being ousted a decade ago.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio