Kabul, Afghanistan ? Two German journalists who had pitched a tent on the side of a road outside a northern Afghan village were killed by gunmen early Saturday, the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.

The freelance journalists conducting research for a documentary were the first foreign reporters killed in Afghanistan since late 2001, when eight journalists died.

A NATO soldier was killed by militants who detonated a roadside bomb and fired on a military patrol in southern Afghanistan. A suicide car bomber targeted a U.S. patrol in eastern Afghanistan but caused no casualties.