When journalist Subel Bhandari heard the news that his AFP colleague Shah Marai had died after an attack in Afghanistan, the first thing that came to his mind was "why"? "Why did it happen to such a kind man?"
Marai, a photo journalist for the French news agency, was among the ten journalist killed in multiple attacks in a single day on 30 April, 2018.
When journalists went to cover the first bomb explosion in Kabul, a second suicide bomber detonated his explosives, killing nine journalists. The second bomber was reportedly carrying a camera and standing among the gathered journalists. In another part of the country, a local BBC reporter was also killed in an, apparent, targeted attack.
Subel Bhandari, originally from Nepal, worked in Afghanistan for five years from 2010 for a German news agency. He says, when they used to cover attacks carried out by the Taliban, they knew the risks they faced and took precautions accordingly.
However, with the latest attack, just few days before the International Press Freedom day, journalists maybe forced to rethink their coverage says Bhandari.
He spoke to SBS Nepali about his experience of being a journalist in Afghanistan.
