The following is a transcript of an interview with Veronique Reyberotte, a reporter with France Culture radio who was with the three journalists killed in northern Afghanistan Sunday.
It was broadcast on France-Inter radio Monday.
The dead journalists were two French colleagues of Reyberotte, Johanne Sutton and Pierre Billaud, and a German photographer.
"We set out. The tank left at top speed. I remember the sparks hitting us. All three of us were installed at the back of the tank. We were having a joke because the translator we'd brought with us seemed a bit hesitant. We never imagined we were putting ourselves in danger. The tank set out. I don't know, many five or ten minutes later, a few kilometres on, we fell into a ambush.
They said it was the Taliban who had come down from the hills to wait for us on the road, which led to another hill captured by the Alliance.... They shot at us with Kalashnikovs. They were very near, clearly visible from the tank, firing Kalashnikovs and anti-tank rockets to pierce the petrol tank at the back of the tank.
It all happened very quickly. We heard many bursts of gunfire. The tank braked sharply and as a result people either fell off or jumped off. It was pitch black. They jumped off the tank, especially Johanne (Sutton) and Pierre (Billaud).
The tank set off again amid a hail of gunfire. We went on to find shelter. I think some soldiers came back (to the tank). We couldn't go back. We spoke a lot to some people who were in radio contact to find out which way to go. We were in the middle of nowhere. We were anxious to know what had happened to our friends who had fallen from the tank -- AFP
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