BBC Afghan reporter is shot dead

Abdul Samad Rohani

An Afghan journalist working for the BBC in the country's southern Helmand province has been found shot dead.

Abdul Samad Rohani had been abducted on Saturday and his body was found on Sunday afternoon in Lashkar Gah.

The BBC paid tribute to Rohani, saying his "courage and dedication have been a key part of the BBC's reporting from Afghanistan in recent years".

Rohani worked with the BBC Kabul bureau and was the Pashto service reporter for the BBC World Service in Helmand.

The province has seen some of the worst recent violence of the Taleban-led insurgency.

Second death

A BBC statement said Rohani's "bravery - and that of his colleagues - have allowed us to tell a key story for audiences in the UK, in Afghanistan and around the world".

It added: "His death is a terrible loss - our thoughts are with his friends and family. We are working closely with his family to support them at this difficult time."

There have been a number of attacks on journalists in Afghanistan this year and the Kabul-based South Asia Media Commission says five Afghan journalists were killed in 2007.

It was the second death of a BBC journalist over the weekend.

Gunmen in Kismayo, southern Somalia, killed Nasteh Dahir, who worked for the BBC and the Associated Press news agency, on Saturday.