Thousands attend memorial for slain Afghan AFP photographer

KABUL, Afghanistan – Thousands of mourners have attended a memorial ceremony for AFP's chief photographer in Afghanistan who was killed along with eight other reporters in a double suicide bombing by the Islamic State group in Kabul the previous day.

Relatives, friends and government officials all gathered to pay tribute to Shah Maria and extend condolences to his family and colleagues for their loss in Kabul on Tuesday.

Monday marked the deadliest assault on reporters since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, according to Reporters Without Borders, also known by its French acronym RSF.

The double Kabul bombing claimed a total of 25 lives and wounded at least 45.

RSF said 36 media workers have been killed in Afghanistan in attacks by the Islamic State group or the Taliban since 2016.