Taliban has claimed to know how Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and has expressed regret for the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist’s death during clashes between Taliban fighters and Afghan forces. “We are not aware during whose firing the journalist was killed. We do not know how he died,” Taliban’s spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid.
Danish Siddiqui, a Reuters reporter, was killed on Friday while covering a clash between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters near a Pakistani border crossing, according to an Afghan commander quoted by the news agency. He was 38 years old at the time.
Afghan special forces were fighting to retake the main market area of Spin Boldak when Siddiqui and a senior Afghan officer were killed in what they described as Taliban crossfire, according to the Afghan commander. Reuters reported that Siddiqui and a senior Afghan officer were killed as the special forces unit fought to retake the main market area in Spin Boldak.
We’re working with regional authorities to get more information as soon as possible. Danish was a brilliant journalist, a loving husband and father, and a well-liked coworker. In a statement, Reuters president Michael Friedenberg and editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni said, “Our thoughts are with his family at this terrible time.”
According to PTI, the Taliban has handed Danish Siddiqui’s body over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, citing sources familiar with the situation (ICRC). India has been informed of the Taliban’s decision to hand over the body to the ICRC, and Indian authorities are working to recover it, according to the report.
