Another journalist killed in Helmand province
Reporters Without Borders is saddened to learn that Nematullah Zahir, a journalist with Aryana TV, was killed instantly today when his car went over a mine in Sorgur, in the southern province of Helmand.
His driver and two other journalists in the car behind theirs were wounded by the blast but their injuries were not life-threatening. Zahir had gone to cover the fighting in Helmand, the site of fierce clashes between government forces and the Taliban for the past six months.
RSF offers its condolences to Zahir’s family and colleagues. His tragic death is a reminder of the dangers to which journalists operating in war zones are exposed.
Zahir is the third journalist to be killed in Helmand this year. David Gilkey, a US journalist working for National Public Radio, and his interpreter, Afghan journalist Zabihullah Tamanna, were killed in a Taliban attack near Marjah, in Helmand province, on 5 June.
Afghanistan is ranked 120th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2016 World Press Freedom Index.
Afghanistan
