The body of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, who was killed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, was handed over by the Taliban to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Friday.
“We were told that the body had been handed over to the ICRC by the Taliban,” said a source at the Indian embassy in Kabul.
The Danish Siddiqui, who had a reporter with the Afghan special forces, was killed after clashes between security forces and Taliban fighters in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar city.
The Indian embassy in Kabul has announced that it is in contact with the Afghan authorities to bring back the remains of the Reuters photojournalist.
“We actively support the return of the body in coordination with the Afghan authorities and the ICRC. We are in regular contact with family members of the Danish Siddiqui, ”said the embassy source in Kabul.
Earlier, State Department spokesman Arindam Bagchi said the government was in contact with the photojournalist’s family.
The Dane Siddiqui started his career as a news correspondent for television and later switched to photojournalism. From September 2008 to January 2010 he worked as a correspondent for the India Today Group.
Broken heart. The Dane Siddiqui was extremely talented. A friend and someone who rightly gave up television to hug their true love, photography. Won a Pulitzer. Talked to him about my next book a few weeks ago. Calm & brave. Sincere condolences from his young family. Farewell, Danish. pic.twitter.com/vHSMl7Wqqm
– Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) July 16, 2021
Meanwhile, Afghanistan witnessed a number of terrorist attacks in the past few weeks as the US continued its troop withdrawal and ended nearly two decades of its military presence in the country.
The Taliban were driven from power by the US-led forces in 2001. Now, while the US is withdrawing its troops, the Taliban fighters are trying to take control of different parts of the country.
(With PTI inputs)
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