Ten journalists among 36 killed in Afghanistan attacks
Ten journalists have
died in Afghanistan in
a coordinated double suicide bombing in Kabul and a shooting in the eastern
Khost province, on the deadliest day for media workers in the country since the
fall of the Taliban. Nine journalists died
in the Afghan capital when they gathered at the scene of the first of two
blasts. Ahmad Shah, a BBC reporter, was shot dead in a separate incident in
Khost province, near the border with Pakistan.
In Kabul, a suicide
attacker riding a motorbike blew himself up in the Shash Darak neighbourhood,
near the Nato headquarters
and the US embassy, at about 8am. A second bomber, holding a camera and posing
as a journalist, struck 20 minutes later, killing rescue workers and
journalists, including an Agence France-Presse photographer, who had rushed to
the scene. At least 25 people were killed and 45 injured in total. Hours later, a suicide
bomber targeting a Nato convoy in southern Kandahar province killed 11 children
at a religious school located near where the explosion occurred.
At least 16
people, including five Romanian Nato soldiers, nine
civilians and two police officers, were also wounded. AFP paid tribute to
its chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, who was among those killed in the
capital. “This is a devastating blow, for the brave staff of our close-knit
Kabul bureau and the entire agency,” AFP’s global news director, Michèle
Léridon, said. “We can only honour the strength, courage, and generosity of a
photographer who covered often traumatic, horrific events with sensitivity and
consummate professionalism.”.. read more:
