“So tragic to hear that my Indian friend, Pulitzer Prize winner journalist Danish Siddiqi got killed in Kandahar last night. He was embedded with Afghan forces. We met last week and he was telling me about his kids, family and his work from covering Rohingya to pandemic in India,” wrote the Tolo news chief Lotfullah Najafizada announcing the demise of the Indian photo journalist Danish Seddiqi on Twitter.
So tragic to hear that my Indian friend, Pulitzer Prize winner journalist Danish Seddiqi got killed in Kandahar last night. He was embedded with Afghan forces. We met last week and he was telling me about his kids, family and his work from covering Rohingya to pandemic in India.
— Lotfullah Najafizada (@LNajafizada) July 16, 2021
Danish Siddiqui, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist with Reuters, was killed in an attack by the Taliban in Spin Boldak district in Kandahar, in Afghanistan. He was on a reporting assignment embedded with Afghan security forces, Afghan ambassador Farid Mamundzay said on Friday.
“Deeply disturbed by the sad news of the killing of a friend, Danish Siddiqi in Kandahar last night. The Indian Journalist & winner of Pulitzer Prize was embedded with Afghan security forces. I met him 2 weeks ago before his departure to Kabul. Condolences to his family & Reuters,” Mamundzay tweeted.
Deeply disturbed by the sad news of the killing of a friend, Danish Seddiqi in Kandahar last night. The Indian Journalist & winner of Pulitzer Prize was embedded with Afghan security forces. I met him 2 weeks ago before his departure to Kabul. Condolences to his family & Reuters. pic.twitter.com/sGlsKHHein
— Farid Mamundzay फरीद मामुन्दजई فرید ماموندزی (@FMamundzay) July 16, 2021
Over the past few days, Spin Boldak district has witnessed heavy fighting after the Taliban captured a key border crossing that links to Chaman in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. On Wednesday, the Taliban claimed that it had captured the Afghan check post. The Afghan forces have been engaged in fierce fighting to recapture the city.
In a twitter thread posted on July 13, Danish, embedded with the Afghan elite forces, detailed the fierce fighting between the Afghan forces and the Taliban.
“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,” in a series of twitter posts, he detailed his reporting with images from the front.
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
Also read: Pak Air Force warns Afghan Pilot not to target Taliban fighters near Af-Pak check post