Updated

Susan Linnee, a groundbreaking Associated Press bureau chief in Madrid and Nairobi, has died at age 75.

Linnee (lin-NAY') had recently been diagnosed with brain cancer. Her brother says she died Monday in Minnesota after spending about a month in hospice care.

Linnee was named AP's Madrid bureau chief in 1982, making her one of the news organization's first female American bureau chiefs overseas.

In 1996, she became Nairobi bureau chief, where she shepherded AP's coverage of major news in Africa, including the spread of terrorists into Somalia, the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Former colleagues praised Linnee's work ethic, dedication to her staff and empathy for ordinary people caught up in world events.

The Iowa native grew up in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park.

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This story has been corrected to show the bombings happened in 1998, not 1997.