An award-winning British photographer has been killed while covering the conflict in the Libyan city of Misrata, BBC reports Thursday.

Tim Hetherington, 40, who was born in Liverpool and had dual UK and US nationality, died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack.

The New York-based journalist was best known for his work in Afghanistan, and for co-directing the Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepo, which followed US troops on an outpost in the same country. He won the World Press Photo of the Year Award in 2000.

Hetherington studied Literature at Oxford University and was working for Vanity Fair magazine.

In a statement on the magazine's website, his family said: "It is with great sadness we learned that our son and brother, photographer and filmmaker, Tim Hetherington was killed in Misrata, Libya, by a rocket-propelled grenade.  Tim will be remembered for his amazing images and his Academy Award-nominated documentary Restrepo."

US photographer Chris Hondros, 41, was also killed, and two others - Briton Guy Martin, a photographer with Panos Pictures and New York-based photographer Michael Christopher Brown, were injured.

Hondros was based in New York for Getty Images.

The White House issued a statement expressing its "deep sadness" at his death.

"Chris's tragic death underscores the need to protect journalists as they cover conflicts across the globe. Our thoughts are with Chris's family and loved ones," it said.

A survivor told the BBC that a group of journalists had been pulling back from near the front line in Misrata when they were attacked.

Libyan government forces have been battling rebels in Misrata, which is in western Libya, since late February and an estimated 300 civilians have died.