A Los Angeles Times photojournalist was beaten by a Taliban fighter before he was identified as Western media while reporting on protests in Kabul

• Los Angeles Times photographer Marcus Yam said he was beaten by an armed Taliban militant in Kabul.
• Yam reported on Afghans protesting the new Taliban rule on Afghanistan Independence Day Thursday.
• "At one point he was on his knees urging the armed fighter not to hurt him," the LA Times reported.

A photojournalist was assaulted by a Taliban fighter while reporting on Afghanistan Independence Day protests in Kabul on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

LA Times photographer Marcus Yam has been reporting on the scene in Kabul after the fall of the capital to Taliban forces over the weekend.

On Thursday, Afghans crowded in the streets to protest the new Taliban regime as well as celebrate Afghanistan Independence Day. Armed Taliban fighters monitored the gatherings in an attempt to quell dissent.

"Around 200 Afghans rally and march towards Pashtunistan Square in Kabul with the Republic's national flags and banners, chanting: "Death to Pakistan," "God Bless Afghanistan," "Long Live the National Flag of Afghanistan," Yam tweeted earlier Thursday.

According to the LA Times report, a group of Taliban militants pointed their guns at a group of Afghans attempting to raise the traditional flag of Afghanistan instead of the white Taliban banner.

Yam attended the protests to photograph the scene when he was punched in the side of the head by a Taliban fighter, the LA Times reported.

"The fighter continued to beat Yam and another photographer working for a major US newspaper and then to demand they erase the images they had shot," citing the report, adding that "Yam said at one point he was on his knees urging the armed fighter not to hurt him."

According to the report, Yam and the other unnamed photojournalist were held by Taliban militants for about 20 minutes. An English-speaking Taliban fighter later approached and asked the men who they worked for and attempted to defuse the situation, "aware that attacking Western media was not in keeping with the image that the Taliban leadership is trying to project."

"He offered the photographers an energy drink and released them," the report said.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Times said the publication had nothing further to comment beyond the reporting included in the article.

Entertainment journalist Amy Kaufman of the LA Times tweeted her well-wishes to Yam as he continues to report on the new Taliban rule amid the risks and dangers that come with the job.

"Our incredible photographer @yamphoto is in Kabul, literally risking his life to document the news," Kaufman wrote. "We're all thinking of you, Marcus."