12 Haunting Photos From The Famous War Photographer Killed In Libya

After 15 years covering major conflict zones, Pulitzer Prize-nominated photojournalist Chris Hondros was killed by a mortor shell in 2011 while traveling with rebels in Libya. It was and still is an unmitigated tragedy.

Hondros' photos from conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, and Liberia, among other places, constitute one of the most affecting bodies of work in photojournalism. He had a gift for capturing the decisive, human moments that emerge during extraordinary times. Never one to shy away from conflict, danger, or horror, Hondros believed his work could make a difference in the conflicts he covered.

"He never was in it for himself or for the vanity of what the job brings with it. He really believes in his work," photojournalist Tyler Hicks told the New York Times in 2011.

Hondros's work has been collected into a new book, "Testament," the proceeds of which will go to the Chris Hondros Fund, a charity dedicated to photojournalism.

In Monrovia, Liberia, a child soldier loyal to the government walks away from firing on July 20, 2003. At the time, Liberia was in the midst of the second of two bloody civil wars that killed as many as 520,000 people.

From Testament, photographs by Chris Hondros/Getty Images, text by Chris Hondros, published by powerHouse Books.

A U.S. Marine takes down a portrait of Saddam Hussein at a school in Al-Kut, Iraq just a month after the invasion began in March 2003. The team was looking for weapons and explosives caches.

From Testament, photographs by Chris Hondros/Getty Images, text by Chris Hondros, published by powerHouse Books.

U.S. Army soldiers shield their eyes from the powerful rotor of a Chinook helicopter that has come to pick them up from a mission in Paktika Province, Afghanistan.

Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Just before this photo was taken in 2005, this Iraqi girl's parents were killed by U.S. soldiers, who fired on their car when it approached them during a dusk patrol in Tal Afar. Hondros' photos from this event have won dozens of international awards.

Chris Hondros/Getty Images

The day he was killed, Hondros took this photo of a Libya rebel fighter celebrating after firing on loyalist troops in Misurata, Libya.

Chris Hondros/Getty Images

In June 2007, Hondros captured a picture of these two Iraq girls watching as Staff Sergeant Nick Gibson canvasses the tense Dora neighborhood of Baghdad.

From Testament, photographs by Chris Hondros/Getty Images, text by Chris Hondros, published by powerHouse Books.

Supporters of Liberian presidential candidate, George Weah, carry this unconscious woman who she fell ill from heat at a rally in 2005. Peace accords in Liberia in 2003 led to Liberia's freest elections ever in 2005.

From Testament, photographs by Chris Hondros/Getty Images, text by Chris Hondros, published by powerHouse Books.

A supporter of then-president of Egypt Hosni Mubarak rides a camel through a clash between pro-Mubarak and anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square.

From Testament, photographs by Chris Hondros/Getty Images, text by Chris Hondros, published by powerHouse Books.

This photo was taken in Tahrir Square, Cairo nine days later on February 11, 2011, just after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak announced that he would step down.

From Testament, photographs by Chris Hondros/Getty Images, text by Chris Hondros, published by powerHouse Books.

Hondros also traveled to Port-au-Prince after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti. He captured this picture of a United Nations peacekeeper from Uruguay tending to a woman who lost consciousness when rice was being distributed to a crowd.

From Testament, photographs by Chris Hondros/Getty Images, text by Chris Hondros, published by powerHouse Books.

This Afghan girl is part of a group of Kuchi tribal nomads who settled in the ruins of Darul Aman Palace in 2010. The palace was being used as a patrol base for paramilitary police at the time.

From Testament, photographs by Chris Hondros/Getty Images, text by Chris Hondros, published by powerHouse Books.

A Liberian militia commander loyal to the government celebrates after firing a rocket-propelled grenade at rebel forces on a key strategic bridge in Monrovia.

From Testament, photographs by Chris Hondros/Getty Images, text by Chris Hondros, published by powerHouse Books.