Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed in clashes between the Afghan Special Forces and Taliban in Spin Boldak district in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Thursday night.
Siddiqui, employed with news agency Reuters, had been reporting on the operations carried out by the Afghan security forces against the Taliban in the region.
According to reports, the Afghan security forces had been fighting Taliban fighters to retake the main market area of Spin Boldak when the Reuters photojournalist and a senior Afghan officer got killed during a crossfire.
Three days ago, the photojournalist, in a string of tweets, reported that he felt lucky to be safe despite the vehicle he was traveling in was targeted by at least 3 RPG rounds and other weapons. In a Twitter post on July 13, Siddiqui described how he tagged along with the Afghan forces for a combat mission against 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," Siddiqui's pinned post on Twitter read.
People React to Journalist Danish Siddiqui's Tragic Death
Mourning the sudden death of Danish Siddiqui, Afghanistan's Ambassador to India, Farid 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."
"Terrible Terrible news. Our dearest Danish Siddiqui, Reuters Chief photojournalist, was killed amid clashes in Spin Boldak district in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was embedded with Afghan forces, which came under attack by Taliban. Remember reporting with him on many assignments. RIP," wrote a CNN journalist on Twitter.
Twitter Reactions
Some people Are Celebrating Photojournalist Danish Siddique's Death?
Meanwhile, some shocking revelations have been made by social media users. Some say that people are celebrating the tragic death of Danish Siddiqui. Taking to social media, one person with the account @Joydas tweeted, "Taliban Killed Danish Siddique in Afghanistan. The Taliban Insipired RW Scums in India are celebrating his tragic death."
Who was Danish Siddiqui?
Danish Siddiqui is an Indian journalist, who won the Pulitzer in 2018 for his work on the Rohingya refugee crisis. He was employed with Reuters when he was killed in a Taliban crossfire while reporting from Kandahar in Afghanistan. Recently, Siddiqui got invited to speak at the Asian Leadership Conference 2021. He was one of the frontrunners among journalists in covering the situation of Covid in India.
