An American journalist and his Afghan translator were killed in southern Afghanistan yesterday afternoon when the convoy in which they were travelling came under fire by Taliban insurgents.

U.S. media outlet National Public Radio (NPR) and the Afghan Military confirmed the deaths of journalist David Gilkey and his Afghan translator Zabihullah Tamanna.

Gilkey was placed with Afghan Special Forces in Helmand Province as a photographer and videographer for NPR as part of a four-person team which included Tamanna. The team’s five-vehicle convoy came under heavy attack by Taliban insurgents during travel from Lashkar Gah to Marja.

The vehicle in which Gilkey and Tamanna were travelling was destroyed. The other two journalists on the team, Monika Evstatieva and Tom Bowman, were not injured.

“The death of David Gilkey reminds us that journalists have an important role in conflict zones — as witness to the horrors and abuses of war,” International Press Institute (IPI) Executive Board Member Marty Steffens, a Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) endowed chair at the University of Missouri and the head of IPI’s North American Committee, said. “David’s work personified that of observer, witness and unspoken commentator. We mourn the loss of David and the others killed in the ambush in Afghanistan, and honor his sacrifice.”

IPI Director of Advocacy and Communications Steven M. Ellis added: “We are saddened to learn of the deaths of David Gilkey and Zabihullah Tamanna and our thoughts go out to their families, friends and colleagues. Their deaths painfully illustrate the peril under which journalists covering the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan operate.”

Since Sept. 11, 2001, Gilkey has covered efforts to fight terrorism, making many trips between the United States and Afghanistan. He covered the fall of apartheid in South Africa, devastation in Somalia and Haiti, and conflict in Israel, Rwanda and the Balkans. He had been a reporter for NPR since 2007.

Gilkey’s work has received many accolades, including the George Polk Award, and he was named Still Photographer of the Year in 2011 by the White House Photographers Association (WHPA). He had earned 36 distinctions from the WHPA since 2009. Gilkey received a national Emmy Award in 2007 for his work on the “Band of Brothers” video series.

Tamanna was a freelance translator and journalist who often worked for NPR in Afghanistan as well as NBC News. He had experience as a photographer and had contributed to a series of articles for NBC News on the legacy of American involvement in Afghanistan.

At least 35 other journalists have lost their lives in Afghanistan in connection with their work since 1997, according to IPI’s Death Watch. The country’s Constitution protects freedom of information and the media, but persistent instability and violence in the country present a dangerous environment for journalists.