New York, NY, March 4, 2002 —Kathleen Kenna, a correspondent for the Toronto Star, was seriously wounded when her car was attacked by unidentified assailants, according to press reports. Kenna was traveling with her husband, freelance photographer Hadi Dadashian; Star photographer Bernard Weil; and an Afghan driver on the main road from Kabul to Gardez. None of the other passengers were hurt.
Weil told the Toronto Star that one man threw a rock at the car from left side, and then an explosion from an unidentified object hit the right side, where Kenna was sitting. Kenna was hit in the leg.
Two Agence France-Presse journalists, who were ahead of them on the same road, helped transport Kenna to a U.S. medical compound in Gardez. Military officials at the compound planned to move her to a hospital in Kabul, according to sources at the Star. Her condition was stabilized after treatment at the compound.
In the past few days, U.S.-led troops have engaged in intensive ground and air battles against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters near Gardez that have killed one American and five Afghan soldiers.
Kenna opened the Star‘s South Asia bureau in Bombay in September. She has worked at the Star since 1981.
