US reporter in Egypt sexually assaulted by mob

Lara Logan, CBS correspondent

New York: Top CBS News foreign correspondent Lara Logan suffered a brutal sexual assault at the hands of a mob in Egypt while covering the downfall of president Hosni Mubarak, the network said on Tuesday.
   Logan was in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square on Friday, the day Mubarak stepped down, and was separated from her crew in the crowd, the US television network said in a statement. “She and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into a frenzy,” CBS said. “In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew.”
   Logan “was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers.” She was flown to the United States the next day and “is currently in the hospital recovering,” the statement said.
   The separation and assault lasted between 20 and 30 minutes, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited a person familiar with the matter. The source added that it was “not a rape.”
   The CBS statement said “there will be no further comment from CBS News and correspondent Logan and her family respectfully request privacy at this time.” South African-born Logan, 39, has covered the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, becoming one of the US media’s most recognizable war correspondents. AFP