A BRITISH journalist was killed alongside an Afghan soldier and a US marine in an attack on a military convoy in Afghanistan on Saturday. Several other people, including a British news photographer, were injured in the blast.
Rupert Hamer, defence correspondent of the Sunday Mirror, died when the armoured vehicle in which he was travelling was hit by a roadside bomb in Ghazni province in the southeast of the country.
Philip Coburn, a photographer with the same newspaper, suffered severe leg injuries and was being treated at a British military hospital at Camp Bastion in Helmand province.
He was expected to be flown to the UK later this week.
A British Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said: “It is with great sadness that the MoD must confirm an incident in Afghanistan involving two UK journalists from the Sunday Mirror newspaper, embedded with the United States marine corps.
“The two journalists . . . were accompanying a patrol to the northwest of Nawa, when the vehicle in which they were travelling struck an improvised explosive device.
Despite the best efforts of medics at the scene, Mr Hamer died of his wounds. Mr Coburn remains in a serious but stable condition. One US marine and a member of the Afghan national army were also killed in the explosion. Four US marines were left seriously injured.”
Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth, who knew Mr Hamer, issued a statement praising the bravery and professionalism of both journalists.
“Both Rupert Hamer and Phil Coburn accompanied me on my most recent trip to Afghanistan,” he said.
“I got to know them well and I was impressed by their hard work and professionalism.” – (Guardian service)