CBS News' Lara Logan Violently Attacked & Sexually Assaulted In Egypt

CBS News journalist Lara Logan is recovering in hospital this week after being violently attacked and sexually assaulted by a mob in Egypt's Tahrir Square on Friday, according to a statement by CBS.

Amid the celebrations on the night of Hosni Mubarak's resignation, Logan was reporting on the scenes in Tahrir Square for the news programme 60 Minutes when the South African-born journalist, her camera crew and security staff were overwhelmed by what the US television network described as

"a dangerous element ... a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy".

"In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She 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,"

CBS said in its statement released on Tuesday evening.

"She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering."

Logan joined CBS in 2002, after a television news career that included a spell at GMTV covering the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and is a veteran of reporting from warzones including Iraq and Kosovo.

CBS's chief foreign affairs correspondent, Logan had previously been detained by the Egyptian military for a day, as part of the Mubarak regime's crackdown on foreign journalists.

Logan serves on the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists, which documented 140 attacks on journalists in Egypt during the protests this month.

"We have seen Lara's compassion at work while helping journalists who have faced brutal aggression while doing their jobs. She is a brilliant, courageous and committed reporter. Our thoughts are with Lara as she recovers,"

said Paul Steiger, chairman of the committee.

CBS said it will make no further comment.

"Logan and her family respectfully request privacy at this time,"

the network said in its statement.