A Syrian shelling of the opposition stronghold Homs has left two war journalists, Marie Colvin of British newspaper - The Sunday Times - and French photographer Rémi Ochlik, dead, and several other journalists injured, according to various reports.

The shells hit the house in Homs, which was being used as a media center by the journalists. When they tried to escape, a rocket hit them, a witness from Amman told Reuters.

Both Colvin and Ochlik were prize-winning veterans of wars in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere.

Colvin hails from New York and she had worked for the Sunday Times for the past two decades. Colvin can be easily recognized by her black eye patch, which she used after losing her eye from a shrapnel wound, during her stint in Sri Lanka in 2001. The incident left Colvin shaken but she said she would not hang up my flak jacket.

During her career, Colvin had won a lot awards due to her professional dedication, including a Martha Gelhorn Prize in 2009 for distinguished work over many years.

Ochlik, born in France in 1983, had started to cover the conflict in Haiti, when he was 20. He had photographed the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya recently.

The Frenchman won his first prize for general news in this year's World Press Photo awards for a photo of a rebel fighter in Libya. He also ran his own agency - IP3 Press.

When the shocking news became public, tributes began pouring in on Twitter and elsewhere. Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague said, Marie and Remi died bringing us the truth about what is happening to the people of Homs and it is a terrible reminder of the suffering of the Syrian people – scores of whom are dying every day.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, head of News Corporation, which owns the Sunday Times, said Colvin was one of the most outstanding foreign correspondents of her generation.

Meanwhile, many people are pouring out their grief and tribute on Twitter .

I did work experience with Marie Colvin. So brilliant. Such awful news bbc.co.uk/news/world-mid… - Kimberley Smith @Kimberlarly

Mourning the losses of Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik - Steve Watkins @Fededitor

their legacy - the deaths of Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik at least mean more of us will look at their recent work and think hard about Homs - Gill @Monitorabbit

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