Afghanistan media outlets have sacrificed greatly over the past 20 years in pursuit of freedom of expression, access to information, and the promotion of democratic values. According to official statistics from organizations supporting journalists, over 130 journalists and media personnel have lost their lives in suicide bombings and explosions carried out by the Taliban and unidentified Armed individuals during this period, with dozens more sustaining injuries. This report lists approximately 130 individuals, with the majority of them being victims of Taliban-perpetrated violence, and some journalists gruesomely beheaded by this group. The previous government of Afghanistan, in the months leading up to its collapse, also declared that 132 journalists had been Killed over 19 years, with 67 of those cases attributed to the Taliban.
Official statistics released by organizations supporting journalists over the past two decades indicate that at least 132 journalists have been Killed in the country, with the majority of these casualties occurring in Taliban-led suicide bombings and explosions, while others have been targeted and systematically Killed by unidentified Armed individuals. Reports published over the past two decades indicate that journalists of Afghanistan and media society have not only been targeted by the Taliban’s deliberate attacks but have also been targeted by local strongmen, government officials, and drug mafia elements within the corrupt government system in Afghanistan.
This report compiles a list of journalists and media personnel who have been killed over the past 19 years. The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) and some supporting organizations have gathered and confirmed this data. Alongside suicide bombings and explosions, the Taliban have also beheaded some journalists and captured them on film. Ajmal Naqshbandi is among those horrifically beheaded by the Taliban, and his murder has become a tragic emblem of the ongoing struggle for freedom of expression in Afghanistan.
The List of Journalists Killed in the Past 20 Years
The statistics of media casualties from 2001 to 2023, as published by the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC), indicate that 130 journalists, including technical and media personnel, have been killed in suicide and Armed Attacks by the Taliban, ISIS Khorasan (IS-K), and unidentified Armed individuals.
Data collected by the Hasht-e Subh Daily spanning from 2001 to 2023 reveals that journalists and media personnel fell victim to various forms of violence. They were killed in 48 suicide bombings, 17 armed attacks, 13 mine explosions, 27 shootings, and 4 knife attacks. Other casualties occurred in Taliban ambushes and clashes with former security forces, mysterious assassinations, shootings involving NATO forces, and attacks orchestrated by the Islamic Party under Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s leadership.
According to collected statistics, over 60% of journalist killings were attributed to the Taliban, 35 cases were attributed to attacks against journalists by ISIS, and the remainder were linked to unidentified Armed individuals and mysterious murders, including approximately 13 women who were victims of media-related violence during this period.
These journalists were Killed in various provinces including Kabul, Nangarhar, Balkh, Logar, Khost, Takhar, Kunduz, Uruzgan, Ghazni, Kandahar, Paktika, Nuristan, Parwan, Jawzjan, Baghlan, Kapisa, and Ghor. Nearly 60% of journalists were Killed as a result of explosions and Suicide Attacks by the Taliban and ISIS in Kabul city, while 11 cases of journalist killings occurred in Nangarhar province and the remaining in 16 other provinces.
According to published information over the past 20 years, approximately 16 foreign journalists have also been Killed in Afghanistan. Some of these journalists worked for renowned global media outlets such as The New York Times, Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP), and US forces. Harry Burton, a Reuters Cameraman, Julio Fuentes, a journalist for El Mundo Spain, and Maria Grazia Cutuli, a journalist for Corriere della Sera, were among the famous foreign journalists Killed in 2001 in an attack attributed to Armed individuals in Sarobi district, Kabul province. Some security officials at the time attributed this attack to the Taliban.
Many Photographers and Cameramen have also been killed during this period while working with both foreign and domestic media. According to published statistics from 2001 to 2023, at least five Photographers from well-known domestic and foreign media outlets have been Killed in Taliban attacks. Shah Marai Fezi, a Photographer for Agence France-Presse (AFP), was Killed in a Suicide Attack attributed to ISIS Khorasan targeting a group of journalists in Dasht-e Barchi, Kabul, on َApril 30, 2018.
Furthermore, Rahmatullah Nikzad, a Photographer who worked for Al Jazeera and Associated Press, was Killed in an Armed Attack in Ghazni city in 2020. Zabihullah Tamanna, a Photographer and Journalist for the National Public Radio (NPR) of the USA, was Killed by the Taliban in Marjah district, Helmand province, in 2016. Azizullah Haidari, a Photographer for Reuters, was Killed in an Armed Attack in Sarobi district, Kabul province, in 2001. Danish Siddiqui, another Reuters Photographer, was Killed in 2021 during clashes between former Afghan security forces and the Taliban in Kandahar province.
The findings of the report indicate that approximately 10 television and radio presenters in Afghanistan have been Killed by the Taliban and in attacks attributed to ISIS and unidentified Armed individuals during this period. Their families have repeatedly urged the previous government to ensure justice and prosecute the perpetrators, but no practical steps were taken until the fall of the government to the Taliban.
The killing of journalists and media personnel over the past 20 years has always been met with serious criticism and questions from journalists and the media community. Media support organizations, both domestic and international, have repeatedly called for investigations into the killings of journalists, especially in cases where journalists have been targeted. Media outlets have consistently demanded accountability for these killings.
Yama Siawash, a presenter of political programs on Tolo TV, was one of Afghanistan’s prominent media figures Killed in a Mine Explosion planted in his vehicle. His murder sparked widespread and unprecedented domestic and international reactions.
Samim Faramarz, a reporter for Tolonews, was covering a Suicide Attack at the Maiwand Sports Club located in the Dasht-e Barchi area of Kabul when a second explosion occurred, killing him and his cameraperson named Ramiz. This Suicide Attack, which occurred on Friday, September 7, 2018, resulted in the deaths of over 30 athletes and injuries to nearly 50 others.
One of the journalists whose murder has sparked widespread and ongoing reactions, and for which the government and media have continuously demanded clarification, is Sultan Munadi, a reporter for The New York Times. In 2009, he traveled to the province of Kunduz to cover NATO airstrikes on Taliban-seized tankers but was captured by the Taliban on his return with his foreign colleague’s assistance. Mr. Munadi, however, was killed during a rescue operation by NATO forces, while his colleague Stephen Farrell was rescued alive.
Sardar Ahmad, a journalist for Agence France-Presse, was Killed along with his wife and two children in the Serena Hotel in Kabul on the eve of the New Persian Year on March 20, 2014, by gunmen in a Taliban Suicide Attack. His murder prompted widespread reactions, with the Taliban claiming responsibility for the attack.
Similarly, Zakia Zaki, the Editor-in-Chief and reporter for Radio Sada-e Solh in the Jabal Saraj district of Parwan province, was shot dead in her home in front of her children. While the attackers were initially unidentified, the Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) stated that the act was carried out by individuals affiliated with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of the Islamic Party. The Armed Attackers entered Mrs. Zakia’s room through a window on June 5, 2007, and Gunshot her.
Furthermore, following a month-long captivity, Taliban militants beheaded Ajmal Naqshbandi on April 8, 2007, in Helmand province. He had been held captive with his Italian colleague for nearly a month, and while the Taliban released the Italian journalist in exchange for the release of five of their commanders from the prisons of the previous government, they decapitated Naqshbandi when they did not receive a positive response to their demands from the former government of Afghanistan.
Following the murder of Ajmal Naqshbandi, the Taliban released a documentary film depicting his captivity, revealing he was beheaded while Taliban members laughed at his body. His killing turned into a tragic ordeal, drawing widespread attention from Afghan media.
On Monday morning, April 20, 2018, the ISIS Khorasan carried out one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in Kabul, leaving 9 journalists dead and 4 others wounded. This Suicide Attack targeted journalists in the Sash Darak area of Kabul, resulting in 26 fatalities and 49 injuries, marking one of the most unprecedented Suicide Attacks against journalists.
Journalists and media personnel have not only been targeted individually but have also faced systematic and group-oriented attacks by the Taliban. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the Suicide Attack on a bus carrying employees of Moby Media Group in Kabul, which resulted in 7 deaths and 25 injuries.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, stated at the time that this attack was carried out “in retaliation for false accusations made by Tolo TV against the Taliban” during the Kunduz conflict. This Taliban Suicide Attack occurred on Wednesday evening, January 20, 2016, on Darul Aman Road in Kabul.
The former Afghan government had also announced in the months leading up to its collapse that 132 journalists had been Killed in the past 19 years, with the Taliban responsible for 67 of these cases.
Before the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, over 107 television channels, 284 radio stations, hundreds of print newspapers, and more than 1800 websites were operational.
Reporters Without Borders stated that 547 journalists were active across Afghanistan before the Taliban’s rule. During their regime, over 80% of female journalists were forced to end their work in the media, and 2023 became a year of media exile for women journalists. The Taliban have imposed extensive restrictions on the media, including condemning photography and videography.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
راه دشوار آزادی بیان در افغانستان؛ در ۲۰ سال ۱۳۲ خبرنگار کشته شدهاند