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Remembering NPR journalist David Gilkey, who died in Afghanistan 10 years ago

David Gilkey (R) and freelance photographer Mitch Prothero photograph the aftermath of an improvised explosive attack near the Jahdryiah Bridge December 4, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
David Gilkey (R) and freelance photographer Mitch Prothero photograph the aftermath of an improvised explosive attack near the Jahdryiah Bridge December 4, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

It’s been exactly a decade since award-winning NPR photojournalist David Gilkey and NPR interpreter Zaihullah Tamanna were killed on assignment in Afghanistan — the only NPR staff ever killed in the line of duty.

Today, Here & Now takes a moment to remember Gilkey, who was traveling as an embedded journalist with the Afghan National Army, and was ambushed after rebels were tipped off that a convoy of Americans had entered Helmand province.

Among those who knew Gilkey was NPR’s veteran Pentagon reporter, Tom Bowman, who joins host Anthony Brooks to remember his former colleague.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom