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PR agent, former Tampa reporter one of at least 22 people killed in attack on hotel in Afghanistan

Former Tampa Bay reporter killed in Kabul
Posted at 4:09 PM, Jan 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-24 23:15:37-05

A former Tampa Bay area reporter was killed in an attack on a hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan Sunday.

Glenn Selig was a former award winning journalist with Fox 13 locally, and was serving as strategist-in-chief at The Publicity Agency.

Three days before the attack Selig posted a video on his Facebook page from Dubai.  In the video he compared the weather to Tampa then spoke about how things were going great" and he would talk to us soon.  Arriving in Kabul, Selig didn't get the chance to update his social media about his trip. 

On Jan. 20, multiple American citizens were killed and injured in an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul where gunmen raided the hotel during a 12-hour standoff with security forces.

Related: 

State Department: Multiple American citizens killed and injured in weekend attack on Kabul hotel

Gunmen attack hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan

Kabul hotel siege ends after 12 hours with 18 dead, Afghan officials say

The Publicity Agency released the following statement:

Unfortunately, we have received confirmation Glenn Selig was killed during the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel. Glenn was a tireless professional, loyal friend and pillar of the community, but most importantly he was a loving husband and wonderful father. The loss for his family and friends cannot be measured nor conveyed strongly enough, but we thank everyone for the outpouring of support we have received.

According to his bio, he was a noted crisis management expert and a leading publicist actively engaged in every campaign.

Selig was in Afghanistan looking into potentially assisting in an anti-extremism campaign.

"He was a great guy," Aileen Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez was a friend and worked with Selig during the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa.  

"You know, working in the media world sometimes you run into people who may not be super friendly. But, I can tell you, Glenn was probably the most genuine person that I ever met."

Rodriguez was shocked to learn Selig was one of the four U.S. citizens killed in the attack. She was not surprised to learn that Selig was in Afghanistan working on a campaign to fight extremist groups.

"I remember when I first saw what he was doing, I was thinking wow, look at him I am so impressed. Because he wanted to do the right thing," Rodriguez said. 

Selig was a father to a daughter and son and was actively involved in the community.