British Journalist Killed in Afghan Blast

An attack on a military convoy in Afghanistan Saturday killed Rupert Hamer, a defense correspondent for the Sunday Mirror, and seriously injured a photographer for the paper. One U.S. Marine and one Afghan national army soldier were also killed by the roadside bomb, which hit the convoy in the Ghazni province. “The sacrifice of service personnel is well documented and rightly respected, but this news demonstrates the risks also faced by journalists who keep the public informed of events on the frontline,” said a spokesman for Britain's ministry of defense. Hamer was the first British journalist to be killed in Afghanistan, and was on his sixth trip to the region. His editor called him "a fine, fearless, and skilled writer…. Affectionately known as Corporal Hamer in the office, he was a gregarious figure, a wonderful friend who was hugely popular with his colleagues.”