New Delhi: Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian photojournalist Danish Siddique, employed with news agency Reuters, was killed while reporting in Afghanistan’s Kandahar on Thursday night.
Siddique was riding along with the Afghan Special Forces, and had been reporting on their operations against the Taliban in the region.
In a series of tweets on July 13, the photojournalist recounted how the vehicle he was traveling in was targeted and that he “felt lucky to be safe”.
THREAD.
Afghan Special Forces, the elite fighters are on various frontlines across the country. I tagged along with these young men for some missions. Here is what happened in Kandahar today while they were on a rescue mission after spending the whole night on a combat mission. pic.twitter.com/HMTbOOtDqN— Danish Siddiqui (@dansiddiqui) July 13, 2021
Earlier, around 50 diplomats and other staff members at the Indian consulate in Afghanistan’s Kandahar were evacuated in view of the “intense fighting near Kandahar city”. Taliban has been trying to regain control over Afghanistan as the US pulls out its forces after nearly two decades.
Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay tweeted about the photojournalist’s death.
The photojournalist headed Reuters’ multimedia team in India. His devastating drone images of funeral pyres during Covid’s brutal second wave in India had spotlighted global attention on the country.
