A veteran American photojournalist and a translator working for NPR have been killed while accompanying Afghan troops in southern Afghanistan, NPR and military officials said.
NPR's David Gilkey and Afghan translator Zabihullah Tamanna were in an Afghan Army Humvee travelling between the provincial capital of Helmand province, Lashkar Gah, and Marjah, when their vehicle was struck by a rocket during a Taliban ambush on Sunday, Shakil Ahmad Tasal, a spokesman for the Afghan Army's 205th Atal Corps has told Reuters.
The driver of the vehicle, an army soldier, also died in the attack.
The pair were travelling on assignment with fellow NPR employees Tom Bowman and Monika Evstatieva, who were both unharmed, according to a statement from NPR.
Gilkey was an award-winning veteran of covering Afghanistan and other conflict zones. "David has been covering war and conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11. He was devoted to helping the public see these wars and the people caught up in them. He died pursuing that commitment," Michael Oreskes, NPR's Senior Vice-President of News and Editorial Director, said.