BBC reporter killed in eastern Afghanistan: Broadcaster

A BBC reporter was killed in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, the broadcaster said, hours after twin blasts rocked Kabul that left 25 people, including journalists, dead.

"It is with great sadness that the BBC can confirm the death of BBC Afghan reporter Ahmad Shah following an attack earlier today," BBC World Service director Jamie Angus said in a statement.

The attack on the BBC reporter took place in the restive eastern province of Khost. It came after two suicide blasts ripped through Kabul in the morning that killed at least 25 people, including Agence France-Presse chief photographer for Afghanistan Shah Marai and eight other journalists.

No details about how 290-year-old Ahmad Shah was killed was provided.
 

Shah worked for the BBC Afghan service for more than a year. It broadcasts in Pashto and Persian in Afghanistan, the two most commonly spoken languages. He had "already established himself as a highly capable journalist who was a respected and popular member of the team," Angus said.

"This is a devastating loss and I send my sincere condolences to Ahmad Shah's friends and family and the whole BBC Afghan team. We are doing all we can to support his family at this very difficult time," Angus added.

The attacks marked the deadliest for journalists in the region since the the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

(With inputs from PTI)