Journalists Killed in 2016 - Motive Confirmed: David Gilkey
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | 31 December 2016 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Killed in 2016 - Motive Confirmed: David Gilkey, 31 December 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/586e04773.html [accessed 22 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
David Gilkey
National Public Radio
June 5, 2016, in Marjah district, Helmand province, Afghanistan
David Gilkey, 50, died when at least one rocket propelled grenade hit the Afghan Army vehicle in which he was travelling. His Afghan colleague, Zabihullah Tamanna, and the Afghan army driver of the vehicle were also killed. The journalists were on assignment for NPR at the time, the U. S. broadcaster said in its account of the deaths. They died on their first day of being embedded with the Afghan army.
They were covering intense fighting between the Afghan military and Taliban fighters in and around Marjah, a Taliban stronghold that had once been taken by American forces. The NPR journalists were being escorted to cover the situation in Marjah when their convoy came under heavy fire. Two other NPR journalists traveling in a separate vehicle in the convoy were not injured.
Gilkey was a highly experienced, award-winning photographer: In its reporting on his death, NPR said he had covered wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa, an earthquake in Haiti, famine in Somalia, and the Ebola epidemic in Liberia.
| Medium: | Radio, Internet |
| Job: | Photographer |
| Beats Covered: | Politics, War |
| Gender: | Male |
| Local or Foreign: | Foreign |
| Freelance: | No |
| Type of Death: | Crossfire/Combat-Related |
| Suspected Source of Fire: | Political Group |
