This May 29, 2016, photo
shows David Gilkey, a veteran news photographer and video editor for
National Public Radio photographer, at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan.
(Michael M. Phillips/The Wall Street Journal via AP)
WASHINGTON—David Gilkey, a veteran news photographer and
video editor for National Public Radio, and an Afghan translator,
Zabihullah Tamanna, were killed while on assignment in southern
Afghanistan on Sunday, the network says.
Gilkey and Tamanna were traveling with an Afghan army unit near
Marjah in Helmand province when the convoy came under fire and their
vehicle was struck, the network’s spokeswoman, Isabel Lara, said in a
statement. Two other NPR journalists, Tom Bowman and producer Monika
Evstatieva, were traveling with them and were not hurt.
Secretary of State John Kerry called the attack that killed Gilkey
and Tamanna “a grim reminder of the danger that continues to face the
Afghan people, the dedication of Afghan national defense and security
forces to securing their country, and of the courage of intrepid
journalists — and their interpreters — who are trying to convey that
important story to the rest of the world.”
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, calling it
cowardly and “completely against all the principles and values of Islam
and humanity, and against all international laws.”
In a statement issued by the presidential palace Monday, Ghani was
quoted as saying the Taliban ignored the differences between military,
civilians and journalists, killing Gilkey and Tamanna as they prepared
their reports on the war.
Ghani on Monday visited Helmand province, where the fatal attack on
Gilkey and Tamanna’s their vehicle took place, offering his condolences
to their families.
This undated photo provided by NPR shows Zabihullah Tamanna, left, and David Gilkey. (Monika Evstatieva/NPR via AP)
The deputy spokesman for the 215 Army Corp in Afghanistan’s southern
Helmand province, Maj. Abdul Qader, told The Associated Press that the
vehicle Gilkey and Tamanna were traveling in came under sustained
Taliban attack not far from the main army base in Marjah. He said their
Humvee was “only 300 to 400 meters from the army base when suddenly they
came under attack.”
The Humvee was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, he said. A total of
five people were in the Humvee at the time – Gilkey, Tamanna, a heavy
machine gun operator who was on the roof of the vehicle, as well as an
Afghan army soldier and driver.
Along with Gilkey and Tamanna, the driver and the machine gunner were also killed, Qader said.
The attack lasted 30 to 40 minutes, he said, during which time army helicopters were called in to provide air support.
“The bodies were taken to the army base immediately after the attack,
and then transported by helicopter to the corps command,” he said.
Later Gilkey and Tamanna’s bodies were taken to Camp Bastion, the main
army base in Helmand, formerly under the command of the U.S. Marines.
The U.S.-NATO Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan said the bodies
had been flown to Kabul, and were awaiting repatriation being organized
by the embassy.A
Gilkey had covered conflict and war in Iraq and Afghanistan since the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on Washington and New York and was committed to
helping the public see the wars and the people caught up in them, NPR’s
senior vice president of news and editorial director, Michael Oreskes,
said in a statement.
“As a man and as a photojournalist, David brought out the humanity of
all those around him. He let us see the world and each other through
his eyes,” Oreskes said.
Tamanna was a freelancer who often worked for NPR, Lara, the
spokeswoman, said in an email. Known as Zabi, he also worked as a
photographer and reporter, taking pictures for China’s Xinhua news
agency and writing for Turkey’s Anadolu News Agency. The stories he
covered ranged from the inauguration of the new president, to the daily
attacks and drone strikes in the war-ravaged country.
Veteran correspondent Phillip Reeves, who recruited Tamanna to the network, called him “a great colleague.”
“He was a lovely man, with a great eye for a story and deep wisdom
about his country,” Reeves said in a statement. “He clearly loved his
family.”
Gilkey covered both for the radio network and its website and had
made numerous trips to Afghanistan and Iraq, according to NPR’s website.
His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the
prestigious George Polk Award and a national Emmy. The White House News
Photographers Association named Gilkey their Still Photographer of the
Year in 2011. In 2015, he became the first multimedia journalist to
receive the Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage of international
breaking news, military conflicts and natural disasters.
Twenty-seven journalists have been killed in Afghanistan since 1992,
according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, not counting Gilkey
and Tamanna. They include Anja Niedringhaus, a photographer for The
Associated Press who was shot dead in 2014 while covering the national
elections for president and provincial councils. AP special
correspondent for the region, Kathy Gannon, was also in the car and
wounded in the attack.
Worldwide, nearly 1,200 journalists have died since 1992, according to CPJ’s website.
In addition to Iraq and Afghanistan, Gilkey covered the conflict
between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the devastating earthquake that shook
Haiti in 2010, the fall of apartheid in South Africa, famine in Somalia,
and war in Rwanda and the Balkans.
“The things to do were amazing and the places to see were epic,”
Gilkey once said of his work. “But the people, the people are what made
it all worth the effort.”
Gilkey’s first journalism job was with the Boulder Daily Camera in
Colorado, where he covered local assignments for the paper and overseas
assignments for Knight Ridder, according to NPR. He later joined the
Detroit Free Press until he began working for NPR in 2007.
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