Naimatullah Zaheer

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Naimatullah Zaheer was killed on November 4, 2016, by roadside bomb in the southern province of Helmand. He was 38 years old.

Zaheer and a group of local reporters were travelling to an area in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand, where the Afghan military had fought with the Taliban the previous night, when their vehicle came under fire. Following advice from police, the group drove off the main road. Shortly thereafter, the journalists’ vehicle hit a makeshift bomb. The blast killed Zaheer and seriously wounded his driver, Abdul Mannaf, according to news reports.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Zaheer graduated from Kabul University in 2003 with a degree in journalism. He had worked as a reporter for more than a decade and had been with Ariana News Television Networks for eight years. While at Ariana News, Zaheer reported on security, social, political, and cultural issues in Helmand province, according to a statement published by the TV network, which described him as “a dedicated and hardworking provincial reporter.”

Zaheer left behind a wife, three sons, and a daughter.