Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent and staff photographer Marcus Yam was on the ground last summer as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.

His heart wrenching photos were honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.

In an interview for "LA Times Today," Yam told host Lisa McRee the stories behind his award-winning photographs.  

When Yam arrived in Afghanistan in August 2021, it was chaos. He described meeting the family of the victims of a U.S. drone strike.

"There was a drone strike in a neighborhood west of Kabul Airport where the Americans targeted supposedly ISIS militants, allegedly, but instead killed, several members of a family. It was a very, very sad scene to approach. We were one of the first Western outlets to arrive and report on the scene. At some point, I even remember arriving on top of a home, a building next door to the site of the airstrike and looked down and saw the point of impact. I basically rushed down and asked for a shovel and started digging and found parts of a Hellfire missile underneath," Yam recalled.  

Yam also covered the plight of girls and women in Afghanistan as the Taliban took control. 

"For a lot of the women that I've met and interviewed, the Taliban arriving seemed like a foreign concept for them because these are stories, they know that the idea of the oppression of women are stories that their mothers have told them. So, when things were starting to unfold, the echoes of the past started to ring true for them and it was very disheartening. And a lot of them, were depressed. They didn't know what to do and all they wanted to do was to get out," Yam said. 

As dangerous as the work can be, Yam said it is important for journalists to share the stories of people living through war. 

"I think what makes me go back ultimately is because we can show people how terrible war can be. If we don't bring this forward in the age of digital media and show the atrocities of war, I don't think people understand. It's just a concept to them. In an age where we're so desensitized by news, I think the best we can bring our readers right there," Yam said. 

Click the arrow above to watch the full interview. 

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