Joao Silva, a world-reknowned conflict photojournalist now working for The New York Times, has been severely wounded while embedded with American troops in Afghanistan. Silva is one of the two surviving journos who were nicknamed "The Bang-Bang Club" while covering South Africa's break from apartheid. Dexter Filkins filed this article about the incident:
Below is one of Silva's photographs taken in Iraq during a sniper attack on American forces:
Times Photographer Wounded in Afghanistan
By DEXTER FILKINS
KABUL, Afghanistan — A New York Times photographer was severely wounded Saturday when he stepped on a mine while on patrol with American soldiers in southern Afghanistan.
Joao Silva, 44, was wounded in his legs while moving through an area near the town of Arghandab. Mr. Silva was evacuated from the scene and taken to Kandahar Air Field, the American and NATO base, where he is receiving treatment.
Three American soldiers sustained concussions. A group of minesweepers and bomb-sniffing dogs had already moved over the area several steps ahead of Mr. Silva when the bomb went off.
Homemade bombs and mines account for more casualties among American and NATO troops than any other means. Many of the bombs are made with a minimum amount of metal and are extremely difficult to detect.
Mr. Silva and a New York Times reporter were embedded with a unit of the 4th Infantry Division. American soldiers have been clearing Taliban insurgents from Arghandab and the surrounding area for the past several weeks, as part of a larger effort to secure the approaches to Kandahar.
Mr. Silva has photographed wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, southern Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East. He has won many awards for his work. He is the author, with Greg Marinovich, of “The Bang-Bang Club,” a chronicle of a group of four photographers covering the violence in South Africa in the 1990s. The other two were Kevin Carter and Ken Oosterbroek.
“Joao is the state-of-the-art war photographer, fearless but careful, with an amazing eye,” said Bill Keller, executive editor of The Times. “We’re all waiting anxiously and praying for his quick recovery.”
Below is one of Silva's photographs taken in Iraq during a sniper attack on American forces:
