The shootings of two of the most distinguished foreign reporters in Afghanistan rocked the journalist community there, which was still mourning the loss of Ahmed. But the attack also put the country’s expats on edge, once again, as it came on the heels of a long string of attacks that have targeted them — including in Kabul, which had until recently been considered relatively safe.Afghans will take to the polls tomorrow in what is going to be a highly watched election. But the Taliban have pledged to disrupt the ballot, and have so far done their best to do so, with almost daily attacks in the last few weeks.Against a backdrop of increased media vitality in Afghanistan — but also increased violence against journalists, particularly Afghans — Niedringhaus’s killing marks the fourth violent death of a journalist there since the beginning of the year.Nils Horner, a British-Swedish reporter, was shot and killed in Kabul in March, in an attack that appeared to be unrelated to his profession, and Afghan journalist Noor Ahmed Noori was killed in January, his mutilated body left in a plastic bag.A heartful tribute: A Reporter Clutches Life After a Loss That Hits Home — Anja Niedringhaus (@NiedringhausAP)April 2, 2014
“With the run up to this election, unlike the last one, we have seen more journalists being either attacked or killed in the midst of major attacks,” Ashley Jackson, an Afghanistan researcher at the Humanitarian Policy Group, told VICE News. “Now with Kathy and Anja, it seems very clear to me that this is kind of a new thing. They’re targeting observers, and then all these attacks on journalists, send a very clear message that we don’t want anyone watching."'Niedringhaus leaves behind a body of work that won awards and broke hearts.'
The Taliban denied any involvement in Friday’s shooting, but in the past they attempted to take credit for similar insider attacks.“The Taliban always claimed that those were the work of a long infiltration campaign, but as best as we can tell that’s bullshit, pretty much. It was mostly just ordinary members of the security forces who, for whatever reason, got angry about some particular foreigners they were dealing with, or with the whole idea of the foreign presence,” Smith said. “The Taliban said they're also targeting journalists, but the Taliban say all kinds of things, not all necessarily true."Reuters: bullet holes r seen in the car in which AP journalists were travelling when they were shot at in Afghanistan — Ehsanullah Amiri (@euamiri)April 4, 2014
'This attack is a huge loss for Afghanistan.'
Distressing to see people tweeting names of 2 journalists shot in — Maria Abi-Habib (@Abihabib)April 4, 2014
Tributes for Niedringhaus were all over news sites and social media on Friday, and several organizations reposted images from her rich coverage of Afghanistan — including her recent photo essays on Afghan women and the election.Shame on those who have prematurely tweeted the names of our colleagues in Afghanistan, possibly before next of kin notified.
— Rod Nordland (@rodnordland)April 4, 2014
Lucky to reconnect w/ — Anne Barnard (@ABarnardNYT)April 4, 2014
Today, The New York Times used Anja Niedringhaus's photo on the front page. A feat she will never see. — Ben C. Solomon (@bcsolomon)April 4, 2014
The attack also drew widespread condemnation, including by UN officials in Afghanistan, who called it “abhorrent.”“This attack is a huge loss for Afghanistan,” Jan Kubis, head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, said in a statement. “Both journalists were highly respected and were very well known for their professionalism, love, and appreciation of the Afghan people, and dedication to telling Afghanistan's story.”
“Some internationals have been taking vacations or been encouraged to take vacations over the election period, and some organizations have locked down their staff inside their compounds,” Smith said, though the exodus has been smaller than in previous elections. “We haven’t seen the kind of evacuation of foreigners that has happened after some attacks in previous years, when whole UN agencies basically emptied out and went to Dubai or elsewhere.”There's nowhere good to party in Kabul anymore.But recent violence in Kabul — including deadly attacks at La Taverna restaurant and the Serena Hotel, as well as a guesthouse used by foreigners — left expats there feeling on edge.“It also would make sense that the insurgency would see the election as a foreign party that they want to spoil, and so they are hitting the foreigners in Kabul, and really not going after the campaigns as much as you’d expect,” Smith said. “The campaigns have been holding these big noisy rallies in relatively undefended areas but those haven’t come under attack.”The rush to the exit, however, is not only tied to pre-election violence, but also to a gradual withdrawal of NGOs — and funding — that will likely follow the troops out of the country.And while some in Afghanistan — and not just the Taliban — want the foreigners out, many others worry about a future without them.“For us, foreigners was not just the military,” Shukria Barakzai, an Afghan politician and prominent feminist activist, told VICE News. “For us as Afghans, foreign aid and foreign presence in Afghanistan meant that they were standing with us, shoulder to shoulder, to build democracy, to have a prosperous Afghanistan, to implement human rights, and to dream.”“That’s why I’m very much worried,” she added. “How will things get shaped now? How will it be?”Follow Alice Speri on Twitter: @alicesperi'For us as Afghans, foreign aid and foreign presence in Afghanistan meant that they were standing with us, shoulder to shoulder.'