Sky News crew targeted in shelling attack in Syria

A Sky News crew say they were targeted in a deliberate shelling attack by Syrian government forces.

The three-person news crew and two political activists were spotted by a military drone and attacked as they filmed a burning vehicle in Idlib province yesterday.

Video from the attack shows reporter Alex Crawford, producer Martin Vowles and the activists running for their lives as dust and debris flies around them.

In an account of the incident, Crawford said the crew felt they were deliberately attacked as they were clearly marked as media.

"We had suddenly become the new targets," she wrote.

"We all withdrew and ran for cover, trying to pick our way back through the broken and busted buildings all around us.

"The military drone hovered above us and we could hear the sound of an aircraft homing in.

"As we hid in a partial doorway to try to avoid running straight down an open road exposing ourselves, the first shell came in.

"It was so close and so loud, all we could hear for a few seconds was a deafening ringing."

One of the activists was injured by shrapnel during the shelling and was later taken to hospital.

Crawford said the group managed to flee to the town of Khan Shaykhun, which soon came under attack as well.

Violence in Syria has escalated in recent weeks as forces loyal to leader Bashar al-Assad attack rebel strongholds.