The body of Japanese journalist Mika Yamamoto, who was killed in Syria on Tuesday, has been handed over to her husband and colleague Kazukata Sato. <br />A funeral service is expected to be held in Japan shortly.<br /><br />Yamamoto was reporting for Tokyo-based independent news wire Japan Press.<br /><br />She was fatally wounded while travelling with the Free Syrian Army in the besieged city of Aleppo.<br /><br />Sato told Reuters on Tuesday that he and Yamamoto had been fired at by Syrian government forces.<br /><br />Yamamoto is known for 15 years of work in conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Uganda.<br /><br />In 2003 the 45-year-old received the esteemed Vaughn-Uyeda Memorial Prize for contributions made by Japanese journalists in the field of international affairs.<br /><br />News agency Kyodo describes her as a "pioneer video journalist".
