German journalists shot dead

Oct. 8, 2006. 01:00 AM

KABUL—Two German freelance journalists working for the country's national broadcaster and travelling on their own through northern Afghanistan were killed by gunmen yesterday, the first foreign journalists slain in the country since late 2001, officials said.

Journalist Karen Fischer, 30, and technician Christian Struwe, 38, were conducting private research for a documentary when they were shot in the province of Baghlan, according to a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, which handles police affairs.

Erik Bettermann, director general of German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, said: "Karen Fischer and Christian Struwe did groundbreaking work to reconstruct a functioning media apparatus in Afghanistan. It is tragic (they) ... had to die in the country that they have personally supported over the past years."

The Taliban insurgent movement denied any involvement in the deaths.

Fischer and Struwe had set up a tent to spend the night and were killed by AK-47 gunfire in the early hours, said Mohammad Azim Hashami, the provincial police chief.

"The sound of the shooting was heard by some of the villagers, who ran toward that area," said Hashami. "They found a tent and they found the two journalists dead."

Associated Press.