Paris prosecutor probes reporter's death in Syria

PARIS - The Associated Press

Syrians hold a candlelight vigil as the body of French television reporter Gilles Jacquier is taken out of a hospital in Homs to be transported to the Syrian capital Damascus early on January 12, 2011. AFP photo

The Paris prosecutors office says it has launched a preliminary murder investigation over the death of a French journalist in Syria.

The French government, human rights groups and Syria's opposition have all demanded an inquiry into the death Wednesday of 43-year-old Gilles Jacquier in a barrage of grenades in the restive city of Homs. The award-winning correspondent for France-2 Television was the first Western journalist killed in the 10-month-old uprising.

Jacquier was among a group of 15 journalists on the government trip when they were hit by the grenades; up to eight Syrian civilians also were reported killed.