Marie Colvin ’78, a prolific journalist who covered war zones including Afghanistan, Baghdad and Libya, was killed Wednesday in a mortar strike in Syria. She was 56.

Colvin worked for the Sunday Times for the past 20 years, reporting on women and children in wartorn parts of the world. On Tuesday, Colvin spoke to various news outlets about escalating violence in the Syrian city of Homs.

“The sickening thing is the complete merciless nature…the scale of it is just shocking,” Colvin said via satellite phone in an NBC Nightly News piece that aired just hours before her death.

Colvin’s death comes days after Colvin and Paris-based correspondent Jean-Pierre Perrin were warned that Syrian troops would murder them if they stayed in Syria, the Daily Mail reported. When Perrin and Colvin were leaving Syria, Colvin decided to return because the major offensive had not yet taken place, the Mail reported.

Along with Colvin, French photojournalist Remi Ochlik was killed in Wednesday’s blasts, which marked the 19th day of bombardment for the city of Homs.

Play the video below to hear Colvin speak on NBC Nightly News on Tuesday.

CORRECTION: Feb. 23, 2012

An earlier version of this article misstated Colvin’s age at the time of her death. She was 56.