New Delhi: Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize winner, has been killed in clashes in Spin Boldak district in Kandahar,  Afghanistan, local news channel TOLO News reported on Friday, citing sources.

Siddiqui, a Reuters photojournalist, was covering the situation in Kandahar over the last few days and had been sharing updates from the site. He was embedded with the Afghan forces which came under attack on Thursday evening as per reports.

Danish Siddiqui, a Reuters photojournalist, was killed in clashes in Spin Boldak district in Kandahar, sources confirmed.

The Indian journalist was covering the situation in Kandahar over the last few days. pic.twitter.com/VdvIRGAEa3

— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) July 16, 2021

"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 two weeks ago before his departure to Kabul. Condolences to his family & Reuters,” Afghan ambassador Farid Mamundzay tweeted.

Tributes poured in from fellow journalists, news organisations as they condoled his sudden death. 

An alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, Siddiqui had started his career as a TV news correspondent and later joined Reuters and moved to photojournalism. In 2018, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography along with his colleague Adnan Abidi for documenting the Rohingya Refugee Crisis. One of the photographs captured by him during the Delhi Riots was featured by Reuters as one of the defining photos of 2020. Siddiqui was remembered for his poignant photographs that he captured courageously while reporting on the Covid-19 pandemic in India. 

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.

https://twitter.com/dansiddiqui/status/1415012786380410880?s=19