Journalists' bodies flown out of Syria

BEIRUT -- The remains of foreign correspondent Marie Colvin, a native of Long Island, and French photographer Remi Ochlik left Syria late Saturday on board a French plane to Paris, the Polish Foreign Ministry said.

Earlier Saturday, a Polish diplomat in Damascus had received Colvin's remains from the Red Crescent, which also handed over Ochlik's body to French Ambassador Eric Chevallier.

Both journalists had sneaked into Syria to try to get an eyewitness view of the government crackdown in a country that has severely restricted foreign press access. They died Feb. 22 in shelling while trapped in the Baba Amr district of the city of Homs.

Colvin, 56, who reported for The Sunday Times of London, grew up in the Oyster Bay area. Her mother, Rosemarie Colvin, said Friday that she expects her daughter's remains to be returned to New York in about a week.

Videos released by activists in Syria on Thursday said Colvin and Ochlik had been buried in Baba Amr. But the Syrian government said the bodies had been disinterred and would be repatriated.