Remembering photojournalist killed in Kabul blast

Agence France-Presse chief photographer Shah Marai died in a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday.

He was one of nine journalists killed during dual bomb blasts in Afghanistan's capital.

According to The Associated Press, the first suicide bomber was on a motorbike while the second attacker was among the crowd of reporters that rushed to the scene of the first attack, pretending to be one of the media, police said. The second attacker then detonated his explosives while still among the reporters, according to police.

In a statement released by the AFP, Marai had worked for the AFP since 1996, when he started as a driver and fixer. He later became a photographer, then head photographer.

After the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001, Marai, who comes from the Shamali Plain north of Kabul, covered the country’s many upheavals, AFP reported.

Marai leaves behind six children including a daughter born only a few weeks ago, the AFP said.

AFP’s global news director Michele Leridon said in a statement, “We can only honor the strength, the courage and the generosity of a photographer who covered often traumatizing events with sensitivity and professionalism.”