It's a common propaganda tactic to use slightly different terms for the same thing, depending on how the victims are viewed by a country and its media. Some people die, as if they were doomed anyway, or as if they were just statistics in a paper. Some others are killed, like actively by the hand of the enemy, which makes it tragic and sad.
It's one of the differences between unworthy and worthy (of media coverage, or consideration by the public) victims.