NO MAN’S LAND

NPR Journalist Killed in Afghanistan

Died after more than a decade covering war.

An award-winning photojournalist for National Public Radio was killed Sunday after the vehicle he was traveling in came under fire in southern Afghanistan. David Gilkey, a veteran war reporter, died in the attack in Helmand province along with his translator, Zabihullah Tamanna. They had been embedded with an Afghan military unit. Two other NPR journalists escaped from the attack unscathed. The dangers of covering conflict zones was nothing new to Gilkey. He had worked as a war reporter since 2001 in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and had also covered the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. A statement from NPR on Sunday praised his work and said he had “witnessed some of humanity’s most challenging moments” throughout his career and had died pursuing a commitment to make the world see what really happens during war.