Lara Logan of CBS Attacked by Mob in Cairo

A senior CBS correspondent is recovering in hospital in the US after she was beaten and sexually assaulted by a mob while covering the Egyptian protests, the US network says.

It says the attack occurred on Friday in Cairo’s packed Tahrir Square after President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, BBC reports.

Logan became separated from her crew and was rescued by women and soldiers.

In a statement, CBS said that Logan and her team became “surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration” with a mob of more than 200 people “whipped into a frenzy”.

It said Logan was recovering following what it described as “a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating”.

A group of women and an estimated 20 soldiers managed to save her after she became separated from her colleagues and security, it added.

The 39-year-old South African returned to the US on Saturday.

Logan is CBS News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent and has reported from Iraq and Afghanistan.