Two journalists were shot and killed when gunmen stormed their radio station in northeast Afghanistan, officials said.

Shafiq Aria and Rahimullah Rahmani, both in their 20s, were shot on Tuesday inside the studios of Radio Hamsada, a private broadcaster based in Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack so far and an investigation was under way, provincial spokesman Jawad Hejri told the AFP news agency.

"Two unidentified gunmen entered the radio station's office at around 6pm on Tuesday. They opened fire on two reporters who were behind their mics during a live programme. Both reporters died at the scene," he said.

The attack is the second this year in war-torn Afghanistan targeting journalists. Last month, Afghan citizen journalist Jawid Noori was snatched from his car and murdered by the Taliban in Farah province in the country's west.

Taliban and other armed groups have repeatedly attacked Afghan journalists, killing 15 in 2018, the deadliest year yet for the country's media, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

US ambassador to Kabul John Bass said he was "saddened and angered" by the killings. "It is time to #EndImpunity for crimes against journalists. #PressFreedom," he tweeted.

Amnesty International described the attack as a "horrific crime" and urged the Afghan authorities to ensure protection for journalists so they could work safely.

"This attack once again highlights the risks journalists continue to face in Afghanistan for just doing their job," the group's South Asia researcher, Zaman Sultani, said in a statement.

Afghanistan's Journalists Safety Committee called on the government to "identify the perpetrators and make sure that the justice is served".

AFP's photographer in Afghanistan, Shah Marai, was among 25 people killed along with eight other journalists in a bomb attack in April 2018.

Less than three months later, AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar was killed in another suicide attack on his way to work.

According to RSF, 60 journalists and media workers have been killed in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in 2001 that toppled the Taliban regime, an average of around three a year.</s>KABUL (Reuters) - Two Afghan journalists were killed on Tuesday night when gunmen entered a radio station and opened fire, authorities said.

The presenter and reporter, both males in their 20s, died at the scene, said Semin Hussaini, director of Radio Hamsada.

It was not known if they were on air at the time and both police and Hussaini said they no idea of the motive for the attack in Taloqan, capital of the northern province of Takhar.

Theirs was the second killing of journalists in Afghanistan this year. Last month the Taliban kidnapped and later killed government worker and part-time journalist Javid Noori.

Jawad Hejri, spokesman for the Takhar governor, said the gunmen fled without being identified and police were investigating.

Taliban and other Islamist insurgents have repeatedly targeted Afghan journalists, killing 15 in 2018, the deadliest year yet for the country's media, according to Reporters Without Borders.

The Paris-based media rights group said the three most dangerous countries for journalists to work in were Afghanistan, Syria and Mexico.

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.

Firstpost is now on WhatsApp. For the latest analysis, commentary and news updates, sign up for our WhatsApp services. Just go to Firstpost.com/Whatsapp and hit the Subscribe button.</s>KABUL: Two Afghan journalists were killed on Tuesday night when gunmen entered a radio station and opened fire, authorities said.

The presenter and reporter, both males in their 20s, died at the scene, said Semin Hussaini, director of Radio Hamsada.

It was not known if they were on air at the time and both police and Hussaini said they no idea of the motive for the attack in Taloqan, capital of the northern province of Takhar.

Theirs was the second killing of journalists in Afghanistan this year. Last month the Taliban kidnapped and later killed government worker and part-time journalist Javid Noori.

Jawad Hejri, spokesman for the Takhar governor, said the gunmen fled without being identified and police were investigating.

Taliban and other Islamist insurgents have repeatedly targeted Afghan journalists, killing 15 in 2018, the deadliest year yet for the country’s media, according to Reporters Without Borders.

The Paris-based media rights group said the three most dangerous countries for journalists to work in were Afghanistan, Syria and Mexico.</s>KABUL (Reuters) - Two Afghan journalists were killed on Tuesday night when gunmen entered a radio station and opened fire, authorities said.

The presenter and reporter, both males in their 20s, died at the scene, said Semin Hussaini, director of Radio Hamsada.

It was not known if they were on air at the time and both police and Hussaini said they no idea of the motive for the attack in Taloqan, capital of the northern province of Takhar.

Theirs was the second killing of journalists in Afghanistan this year. Last month the Taliban kidnapped and later killed government worker and part-time journalist Javid Noori.

Jawad Hejri, spokesman for the Takhar governor, said the gunmen fled without being identified and police were investigating.

Taliban and other Islamist insurgents have repeatedly targeted Afghan journalists, killing 15 in 2018, the deadliest year yet for the country’s media, according to Reporters Without Borders.

The Paris-based media rights group said the three most dangerous countries for journalists to work in were Afghanistan, Syria and Mexico.</s>Two Afghan journalists killed in attack on radio station: officials

Kabul: Two journalists were shot and killed when unidentified gunmen stormed their radio station in northeast Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday, underscoring the dangers faced by reporters in the war-torn country.



The pair, both men in their 20s, were gunned down inside the studios of Radio Hamsada, a private broadcaster based in Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province, provincial spokesman Jawad Hejri told AFP. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.</s>Two Afghan journalists killed in attack on radio station

The pair, both men in their 20s, were gunned down inside the studios of Radio Hamsada, a private broadcaster based in Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province.</s>KABUL -Two journalists were shot and killed when gunmen stormed their radio station in northeast Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday, underscoring the dangers faced by reporters in the war-torn country.

The pair, both men in their 20s, were gunned down inside the studios of Radio Hamsada, a private broadcaster based in Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack and an investigation was underway, provincial spokesman Jawad Hejri told AFP.

"Two unidentified gunmen entered the radio station's office at around 6 pm on Tuesday. They opened fire on two reporters who were behind their mics during a live programme. Both reporters died at the scene," he said.

The attack is the second this year in Afghanistan targeting journalists and comes as diplomatic efforts to end the 17-year war have intensified.

Last month, Afghan citizen journalist Jawid Noori was snatched from his car and murdered by the Taliban in Farah province in the country's west.

2018 was the deadliest year on record for journalists in Afghanistan, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Amnesty International described the latest attack as a "horrific crime" and urged Afghan authorities to ensure protection for journalists so they could work safely.

"This attack once again highlights the risks journalists continue to face in Afghanistan for just doing their job," the group's South Asia researcher, Zaman Sultani, said in a statement.

Afghanistan's Journalists Safety Committee issued a statement calling on the government to "identify the perpetrators and make sure that the justice is served."

AFP's chief photographer in Afghanistan, Shah Marai, was among 25 people killed along with eight other journalists in a bomb attack in April 2018.

Less than three months later, AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar was killed in another suicide attack on his way to work.

According to RSF, 60 journalists and media workers have been killed in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in 2001 that toppled the Taliban regime and enabled independent media to blossom in its wake - an average of around three a year.</s>Two journalists have been shot and killed after unidentified gunmen stormed a radio station in northeastern Afghanistan, their colleagues and officials say, the latest deadly attack on reporters in the war-torn country.

Shafiq Arya and Rahimullah Rahmani, both in their 20s, died at the scene, said Semin Hussaini, director of Radio Hamsada, a private broadcaster based in Taloqan, the capital of Takhar Province.

Both Hussaini and police said they had no idea of the motive for the February 5 attack.

Nobody has yet claimed responsibility.

Provincial police chief Rashid Bashir said that an investigation was under way.

"Two unidentified gunmen entered the radio station's office at around 6 p.m. on Tuesday. They opened fire on two reporters who were behind their mics during a live program," Bashir said.

It was the second killing of journalists in Afghanistan this year.

On January 5, journalist Javid Noori was shot dead in his native province of Farah in Afghanistan's west.

A Taliban spokesman said the militant group killed Noori because he worked for the government.

The Taliban and other Islamist groups have repeatedly targeted Afghan journalists, killing 15 in 2018, the deadliest year for Afghanistan's media, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The Paris-based media watchdog urged the police to "conduct a thorough investigation" in order to identify the latest attack's perpetrators and instigators, Reza Moini, the head of RSF's Iran-Afghanistan desk, said in a statement.

Radio Hamsada employs 11 people, including seven women, and has been broadcasting from 6 a.m. to midnight since 2007, according to RSF.

The London-based human rights group Amnesty International described the attack as a "horrific crime" and urged the authorities to ensure protection for journalists so they could work "freely and without fear."

In a statement, Amnesty South Asia researcher Zaman Sultani said the attack "once again highlights the risks journalists continue to face in Afghanistan for just doing their job."

The U.S. ambassador to Kabul, John Bass, said he was "saddened and angered" by the killings.

"It is time to #EndImpunity for crimes against journalists. #PressFreedom," he tweeted.

Afghanistan is ranked 118th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP</s>NATO forces in Afghanistan say four international service members have been killed in an apparent insider attack by Afghan police officers.

The international alliance says in a statement that the attack happened early Sunday in the volatile southern region of the country. The statement does not provide details other than to say the attack was "suspected to involve members of the Afghan police."

The coalition says they are investigating what happened.</s>SAIT’s Radio, Television and Broadcast News (RTBN) students are at it again, populating the airwaves with music, ideas, conversations, and comedy of the youth.

RTBN News students relaunched their yearly radio station, rechristening the station as Journey 103. The relaunched station plans on differing themselves from other student radio stations in Calgary, as well as previous iterations of the station, which is a major part of second-year RTBN.

RTBN second-year student and sometimes on-air personality Lindsay Brock is excited for the station to be up again.

“What we get to do is re-brand the whole thing, from the ground up and relaunch it.

“We get to come up with new tag lines, people are on social media, people are on the contest promotion team. People really get to learn every role.”

Brock is hoping her experience at Journey 103 gives her the chops to work on the production side of radio development.

She is one of a small number of women who pursue the production side of RTBN.

“I am really proud to be one of the few women who hope to go into production,” she said.

The production side of the RTBN program allows students to learn the technical side of radio production.

“When it comes to something as technical as production, I think women just do not get taken as seriously in that side of things,” Brock added.

The station is meant to showcase the collective creative ideas showcased by the RTBN students.

“We all have a different role to play in making this work,” Brock added.

While still a student-run endeavour, Journey 103 is attempting to be different from other campus radio stations in Calgary.

“We are just trying to be the SAIT radio station, and we are all proud of that.”

Tune into Journey 103 and get up-to-date SAIT information, music and much more.
Two Afghan journalists are killed by gunmen in an attack on a radio station in Taloqan, Takhar province.