PESHAWAR, Dec 22: Reporters Sans Frontiers has called for an immediate inquiry after three Press photographers were attacked near Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan on Dec 20.

In a letter sent to the American Secretary of Defence, Mr Donald H. Rumsfeld, Reporters Sans Frontihres (RSF) expressed its concern about the attitude adopted by the US Special Forces reportedly asked Afghan fighters to attack Press photographers.

The RSF asked the US Secretary of Defence to provide detailed information on this incident and to take energetic steps to prevent the recurrence of such lapses. “Using Afghan fighters to mistreat and mug journalists is cowardly and contrary to international conventions protecting journalists in time of war,” says Robert Minard, RSF secretary-general.

According to information gathered by RSF, Joao Silva and Tyler Hicks, photographers for the US daily New York Times, and David Guttenfelder, photographer for the Associated Press news agency, were mistreated and threatened on Dec 20 by Afghan fighters in the presence of members of the American special forces near Tora Bora.

According to Agence France-Presse, the three Press photographers tried to get past a barrier set up by the local Afghan forces to keep journalists from reaching an area where the American commandos were searching caves used by Al-Qaida. But Joao Silva, Tyler Hicks and David Guttenfelder were turned back by Mujahideen and an Afghan working for the American special forces.

While they were taking pictures of the American special forces, a soldier came up to them and took their names and photographed them. When they tried to leave the valley, they were blocked on the road by a group of Mujahideen who threatened them with their Kalashnikovs and brought them back to the command post. The photographers were mistreated and harassed for more than an hour, and their cameras and computers were confiscated.

Two American soldiers passing by refused to help them.