• Ben Stansall / AFP - Getty Images

    The coffin bearing the body of British photojournalist and filmmaker Tim Hetherington is carried from the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception in London, on May 13, 2011. Tim Hetherington was killed in a suspected mortar attack while covering the conflict in the besieged Libyan city of Misrata, on April 20, 2011.

    Funeral held for British photojournalist Tim Hetherington

    AFP reports that about 500 mourners attended the funeral services for Tim Hetherington today in London. The British born photojournalist and filmmaker had dual American citizenship and had been living in New York City. He died with Chris Hondros, another photojournalist, while covering conflict in Misrata, Libya on April 20. Hetherington was an award-winning combat journalist with experience in Afghanistan, Iraq and Liberia. He was nominated for an Academy Award for the documentary film he co-directed with Sebastian Junger, "Restrepo."

    More on the funeral services from the British Journal of Photography.
    A exhibition of his work is opening today in Liverpool.
    More on Tim Hetherington on PhotoBlog.
    View of Tim's still photography work in our slideshow.

  • Two photojournalists are killed and two others injured in rocket attack in Misrata

    It's an exceptionally sad day for the photojournalism community. Tim Hetherington, a British photojournalist and co-director of the documentary "Restrepo," and Chris Hondros, an American photojournalist with Getty Images, were killed by a rocket propelled grenade in Misrata. Two other photojournalists, Guy Martin and Michael Christopher Brown, were also injured. We are regularly updating our news story as new details emerge.

    Reuters

    Photojournalist Tim Hetherington is seen in this undated handout image during an assignment for Vanity Fair Magazine at 'Restrepo' outpost in Afghanistan. Hetherington, the co-director of Oscar-nominated war documentary "Restrepo," died in the besieged Libyan town of Misrata on April 20, 2011, doctors said. He was among a group caught by mortar fire on Tripoli Street, the main thoroughfare leading into the centre of Misrata, the only major rebel-held town in western Libya and besieged by Muammar Gaddafi's forces for more than seven weeks.

    Phil Moore / AFP - Getty Images

    Tim Hetherington, center, is assisted by Libyan rebels as he climbs down from a building after gunshots rang out from loyalist forces inside in the besieged city of Misrata on April 20, hours before he was killed in the city while covering the conflict.

    We interviewed Hetherington here in January, after "Restrepo" was nominated for an Academy Award. He will be remembered especially for his work from Afghanistan and from Liberia, below, where he lived for several years. His work from that country was chronicled in the book "Long Story Bit by Bit: Liberia Retold". View a slideshow of Hetherington's work.

    Tim Hetherington / Panos Pictures

    Sekou, a young LURD (Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy) rebel sits in an abandoned classroom in Liberia in 2003. The infrastructure of the country collapsed during the four-year civil war which forced Charles Taylor, the President and indicted war criminal, to step down from office.

    Chris Hondros is very dear to the msnbc.com staff and our viewers for his many regular contributions to our site's pages, and especially "The Week in Pictures." Earlier on Tuesday, before we learnt of the incident which led to his death, PhotoBlog had featured his photographs of the fighting in Tripoli Street, Misrata.
    See the video below to hear Hondros describe his motivation for doing such dangerous but important work and see several of his most compelling images.

    2007: Photojournalist Chris Hondros of Getty Images talks about his life behind the camera, and his award-winning pictures from Iraq to Liberia that capture the moments in war-torn countries.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Above: A Liberian militia commander loyal to the government exults after firing a rocket-propelled grenade at rebel forces at a key strategic bridge July 20, 2003 in Monrovia, Liberia. Chris describes his work in Liberia and a funny story that resulted from the photograph above.

    Chris Hondros / Getty Images

    Samar Hassan, 5, screams after her parents were killed by U.S. Soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division in a shooting January 18, 2005 in Tal Afar, Iraq. The troops fired on the Hassan family car when it unwittingly approached them during a dusk patrol in the tense northern Iraqi town. Parents Hussein and Camila Hassan were killed instantly, and a son Racan, 11, was seriously wounded in the abdomen. Racan, paralyzed from the waist down, was treated later in the U.S.

    Above: Samar Hassan screams after her parents were killed by U.S. Soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division in a shooting January 18, 2005 in Tal Afar, Iraq. The troops fired on the Hassan family car when it unwittingly approached them during a dusk patrol in the tense northern Iraqi town. Parents Hussein and Camila Hassan were killed instantly, and a son Racan, 11, was seriously wounded in the abdomen. Racan, who lost the use of his legs, was treated later in the U.S. 

  • Interview with Tim Hetherington, Oscar-nominated director of the film 'Restrepo'

    By David R Arnott, NBC News

    Tim Hetherington, a photographer and filmmaker, co-directed the movie Restrepo with Sebastian Junger. The film, an intense and powerful insight into the experiences of a platoon of American soldiers in Afghanistan, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the documentary feature category.

    Hetherington and Junger followed the men of Battle Company on their deployment to a remote hilltop outpost that they had named 'Restrepo' in honor of a fallen comrade, 20 year old medic Juan Restrepo.

    Tim Hetherington

    Tad Donoho pictured after he was given a 'pinkbelly', a traditional slapping of the stomach administered by other members of the platoon on someone's birthday. Battle Company, 2nd Battalion Airborne of the 503rd US Infantry are undergoing a 15 month deployment in the Korengal Valley, epicentre of the war and scene of fierce fighting with the Taliban.

    I spoke by phone with Tim Hetherington this morning.

    Q. How does it feel to be nominated for an Oscar?
    A. It's great, we're completely thrilled. For us, just to make this film in what were incredibly difficult conditions, to get it edited and released, that was success. What's happening now goes beyond our wildest imaginations. It's an honor to be nominated for the Oscar, but most of all we hope that it helps to recognise the courage of the soldiers. What it means is the film will get more exposure and continue to contribute to the national conversation and that's the most important thing.

    Tim Hetherington

    Corporal 'Doc' Old, a medic with Battle Company, treats an injured soldier during an attack on the Restrepo bunker by insurgents.

    Q. You got to know many of the families of the soldiers in the film. How have they reacted to the nomination?

    A. Well, we posted a message on Facebook to thank everybody for their support, and we got a great response. One that stood out was from Deborah Ussery, who said:

    'On behalf of our family, and my son-in-law, Sgt. Sterling Jones, Congratulations gentlemen! It is a big deal....a very big deal. The work that you did brought attention to the war that truly was forgotten and the plight of our soldiers. This has been a journey for our family and we thank you both for your honesty and candor during that year.'

    The film tries to bridge the gap between the military community and the public. That's what's really gratifying: that we've been able to give the families a voice. When we're caught up in the politics of the war, we can forget about the human dimensions to it, including the fallout for soldiers and their families. In the time we spent in the Korengal Valley, we were acutely aware that war affects people - both the Afghan citizens and the soldiers who are there and the families on the other side of the world.

    Tim Hetherington

    Sgt. Sterling Jones of 2nd Platoon, Battle Company, 2nd Battalion Airborne of the 503rd US Infantry, on deployment in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan.

    Q. What about Juan Restrepo? His name is living on, in a way, through the movie. Have you spoken to his family?

    A. I was on the phone yesterday with Marcela, his mom. We've been in contact with her a lot. We approached her before the film came out and told her we wanted to call it Restrepo, and she gave us her approval. We made sure the soldiers were the first people to see the film, and I know that some of them flew down to Florida to go to the preview screening there with Marcela.

    Restrepo lived an amazing life. Here was a man who was born in Colombia, emigrated with his family when he was a child and became a US citizen, joined the military and ended up dying on the side of a mountain in Afghanistan. If you think about it, especially in terms of the immigration debate, that's an incredible story.

    I said to Marcela, obviously nothing can bring back your son, but I hope that the film is a small tribute to him.

    Tim Hetherington

    Filmmakers Sebastian Junger (left) and Tim Hetherington (right) at the Restrepo outpost in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan.

     For more of Tim Hetherington's work from Afghanistan, see the stories In the bunker and Return to the bunker at Panos Pictures.

    Hetherington's book on Afghanistan, Infidel, is published by Chris Boot.

    The Sun Sentinel has an interview with Marcela Pardo, Juan Restrepo's mother.

    Tim Hetherington joins the Morning Joe gang for a discussion on how soldiers relate to the war.