Lara Logan, Hospitalized Following Brutal Sexual Assault in Egypt, Often Faced Danger

CBS News released a statement today regarding the condition of Lara Logan, its chief foreign affairs correspondent. According to CBS, Logan was separated from her crew, beaten and sexually assaulted by a mob in Cairo's Tahrir Square on the day that Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt.

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. 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.

CBS News / AP

CBS News says Lara Logan, shown covering the reaction in Cairo's Tahrir Square the day Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, was attacked Friday and suffered a brutal beating and sexual assault before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers.

The 39-year-old Logan has often found herself in dangerous situations throughout her reporting career, covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, where she often ventured off beyond areas deemed safe by the U.S. military.

In 2008, I had the pleasure of interviewing Logan for a now-defunct glossy. During our conversation, she recalled slipping into Iraq in 2003, just before the U.S. commenced its "shock and awe" bombings in Baghdad.

"Almost no food, no water," Logan told me, "a Western woman and an Arab man sharing a room. And we led every morning's news show; we led the evening news. We led '48 Hours'; we led '60 Minutes II.' We put a face to collateral damage."

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