US army releases images taken by combat photographer of mortar explosion that killed her

Clayton, 22, died while taking photos in the Armored Brigade Combat Team. Photo / US Army

Graphic Warning

A combat photographer's pictures that captured her last moments before she died have been released by the Army.

In July 2013, Spc. Hilda Clayton, a visual information specialist attached to 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, in Afghanistan, was taking photos of a live-fire training exercise in Qaraghahi, reported the Army Times.

The training was meant to certify Afghan soldiers on mortar operations.

Clayton, 22, was doing what she did best - documenting the scene with her camera.

She was also training an Afghan combat photographer, who was also taking pictures.

It was while they were snapping photos that a mortar tube accidentally exploded. Clayton and her trainee caught the moments before their own deaths on camera.

The three Afghan soldiers participating in the exercise were also killed.

The accident marked the first death of an Army combat documentation in Afghanistan.

Clayton's family approved the release of the disturbing photos, says Stars and Stripes.