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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Afghan blast kills correspondent | Afghan blast kills correspondent |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The defence correspondent for the Sunday Mirror newspaper has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said. | The defence correspondent for the Sunday Mirror newspaper has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the UK's Ministry of Defence has said. |
| Rupert Hamer, 39, was one of two Mirror journalists embedded with the US Marine Corps when their vehicle hit an improvised bomb near Nawa, in Helmand. | |
| The father-of-three's colleague, photographer Philip Coburn, 43, is in a serious but stable condition. | |
| A US Marine and an Afghan soldier were also killed in the blast on Saturday. | |
| Four US Marines were seriously injured. | Four US Marines were seriously injured. |
| UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "deeply saddened by this tragic news". | |
| He said: "My heartfelt thoughts and sympathies are with the families, friends and colleagues of Rupert and Philip. | |
| "Their courage, skill and dedication to reporting from the frontline was incredibly important and ensured that the world could see and read about our heroic troops. | |
| "Their professionalism and commitment to our forces will not be forgotten." | |
| A former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, Col Richard Kemp, knew Mr Hamer and said he had worked very closely with the military. | |
| He said: "You won't hear a bad word said about him. He was extremely well liked and well respected as a journalist, he was fearless in his reporting, he wouldn't let anybody off the hook easily, but he also understood the way the military worked. | He said: "You won't hear a bad word said about him. He was extremely well liked and well respected as a journalist, he was fearless in his reporting, he wouldn't let anybody off the hook easily, but he also understood the way the military worked. |
| "He had great empathy with soldiers in particular on the ground and some of the work he did for the Sunday Mirror without a shadow of a doubt helped improve the lot of the soldier who was fighting in Afghanistan and elsewhere." | "He had great empathy with soldiers in particular on the ground and some of the work he did for the Sunday Mirror without a shadow of a doubt helped improve the lot of the soldier who was fighting in Afghanistan and elsewhere." |
| Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said Mr Hamer and Mr Coburn had accompanied him on his most recent trip to Afghanistan. | Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said Mr Hamer and Mr Coburn had accompanied him on his most recent trip to Afghanistan. |
| "I got to know them well and I was impressed by their hard work and professionalism," he said. | "I got to know them well and I was impressed by their hard work and professionalism," he said. |
| "My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the families, friends and colleagues of both men at this extremely distressing time." | "My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the families, friends and colleagues of both men at this extremely distressing time." |
| He added: "As a defence correspondent, Rupert Hamer was in regular contact with press officers at the MoD. | He added: "As a defence correspondent, Rupert Hamer was in regular contact with press officers at the MoD. |
| "I know they had great respect for his work and the news of his death has been met with great sadness amongst us all." | "I know they had great respect for his work and the news of his death has been met with great sadness amongst us all." |
| Mr Hamer is the second foreign journalist to be killed in Afghanistan in recent weeks. | |
| Michelle Lang, 34, from Canada's Calgary Herald, died along with four Canadian soldiers in a roadside bomb attack in December. |