Zabihullah Tamanna, the Afghan journalist who was killed on Sunday along with NPR photojournalist David Gilkey, has been laid to rest in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Zabihullah and David died when the armored Humvee they were riding in, part of an Afghan military convoy, was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Taliban militants. NPR's Tom Bowman and Monika Evstatieva were riding in a different vehicle in the convoy, and were not injured in the attack.
Zabi (as Tamanna was known) worked as a photojournalist for the Chinese news agency Xinhua and wrote for Turkey's Anadolu News Agency. He was working for NPR as an interpreter.
NPR's Philip Reeves, who recruited Zabihullah Tamanna to NPR, described him as "a wonderful, compassionate and courageous man."
He had "a deep concern for accuracy, an appetite for hard work, great photographic skills and a lovely sense of humor," Phil wrote in a remembrance:
NPR spoke with Zabi's widow, Fawzia Tamanna, by phone today. She said, "Please tell the world he was the finest man."
Zabi also leaves behind three young children — two sons and a daughter.
His funeral was held Tuesday, the second day of Ramadan, in Kabul. About 200 people were in attendance, Reuters reports. You can see video of the service here.
Zabi's 10-year-old son, Mustafa, said he couldn't believe it when he was told his father was dead, the news agency says.
"I feel a huge pain," Mustafa said. "I feel like I am on fire."
"This is not Islam," Zabihullah Tamanna's brother-in-law, Mohammed Yousef, said as quoted by Reuters. "Those who committed this act will go to hell."
The attack that killed Zabi and David has been condemned by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, The Associated Press reports. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called the attack "a grim reminder of the danger that continues to face the Afghan people."
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