--- description: The 40-year-old journalist was killed along with his wife and two of his children at a luxury hotel in the center of the Afghan capital title: Afghanistan: AFP Reporter Sardar Ahmad Killed at Serena Hotel in Kabul image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt307fa80efbd5a754/6986868acd6848f7be093b5f/int_serena_hotel_attack_kabul_0321.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Afghanistan](/tag/afghanistan/) ## Afghanistan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # AFP Reporter Sardar Ahmad Killed in Kabul  by [Charlie Campbell](/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Mar 21, 2014 10:18 AM CUT  Afghanistan's interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi shows pictures of Taliban insurgents that were killed last night in a luxury hotel in Kabul March 21, 2014. Afghanistan's interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi shows pictures of Taliban insurgents that were killed last night in a luxury hotel in Kabul March 21, 2014.Omar Sobhani—Reuters  by [Charlie Campbell](/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Mar 21, 2014 10:18 AM CUT A journalist for Agence France-Presse was [killed](http://www.nst.com.my/latest/afp-reporter-sardar-ahmad-killed-in-kabul-hotel-attack-1.524961#sthash.A7YOtOe1.dpuf "undefined") along with his wife and two children in Afghanistan on Thursday evening, the latest in a string of brazen attacks in the run-up to general elections on April 5. Sardar Ahmad, 40, was at Kabul’s Serena hotel when four gunmen opened fire on staff and guests enjoying dinner, killing nine civilians including four foreigners, AFP reports. The Taliban was quick to claim responsibility. Ahmad’s youngest son reportedly survived the attack and has undergone emergency treatment at a hospital in the city. Ahmad, an Afghan national who also ran the Kabul Pressistan media company, joined AFP in 2003 and became its senior staff reporter in the capital. The bloodshed at a luxury hotel in the city center is the latest such incident as Afghanistan’s polls approach. On March 11, British-Swedish journalist Nils Horner, 52, was shot dead in broad daylight in a street in the supposedly secure diplomatic district. \[[_AFP_](http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gdR2XgDgHL5QTPQ3RV-R-a4jHD9w?docId=e01deb65-74da-41b7-9501-3bab525caaef "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/33102/afp-reporter-sardar-ahmad-killed-in-kabul/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/33102/afp-reporter-sardar-ahmad-killed-in-kabul/"},"headline":"AFP Reporter Sardar Ahmad Killed in Kabul","datePublished":"2014-03-21T10:18:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:53:28.880Z","description":"Sardar Ahmad, a veteran Afghan reporter with AFP, was killed along with his wife and two of their children by gunmen at the luxe Serena Hotel in the capital's center, the latest attack to underscore rampant security issues ahead of the April elections","url":"https://time.com/33102/afp-reporter-sardar-ahmad-killed-in-kabul/","keywords":["Afghanistan","Journalist"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt307fa80efbd5a754/6986868acd6848f7be093b5f/int_serena_hotel_attack_kabul_0321.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlie Campbell","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/charlie-campbell/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt307fa80efbd5a754/6986868acd6848f7be093b5f/int_serena_hotel_attack_kabul_0321.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"INT_serena_hotel_attack_kabul_0321","caption":"Afghanistan's interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi shows pictures of Taliban insurgents that were killed last night in a luxury hotel in Kabul March 21, 2014.","creditText":"Omar Sobhani—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/afghanistan/","name":"Afghanistan"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/33102/afp-reporter-sardar-ahmad-killed-in-kabul/","name":"AFP Reporter Sardar Ahmad Killed in Kabul"}}]}] ```