MOSCOW, February 24 (Itar-Tass) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry strongly denounced deaths of foreign journalists in Syria and expressed condolences to their family and relatives, the ministry’s spokesman, Alexander Lukashevich, said on Friday.

On February 22 two Western reporters were killed and another three were wounded in Syria’s town of Homs.

The reporters’ death “raises strong criticism and serious concern, as this is not the first case of murders involving foreign reporters in Syria,” the spokesman said.