They assassinated a Reuters journalist while covering bloody fighting between the Afghan army and the Taliban

Danish Siddiqui, journalist for the British press agency Reuters, was assassinated this Friday while covering the fighting between Afghan army and the Taliban in the city of Spin Boldak, on the border with Pakistan, according to sources cited by the media itself and the Afghan television channel Television Television, as well as by the Union of Afghan Journalists.

An Afghan army commander quoted by Reuters He said the journalist died with an officer during the fighting. Siddiqui accompanied the Afghan forces since the beginning of the week and had reported in recent days on clashes in the region. According to Reuters, Siddiqui had indicated during the day that he had been injured in the arm following the impact of shrapnel during clashes.

The reporter was treated when the Taliban again attacked the areaAccording to the aforementioned commander, a version that could not be independently verified. Siddiqui’s death was also confirmed by the Union of Afghan Journalists, who pointed out via his account on the social network Twitter that the journalist “visited Afghanistan about two weeks ago and was covering the situation in Kandahar for the last few days”.

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, the official said. Reuters.

“We are urgently seeking more information, in collaboration with the authorities in the regionSaid the president and editor-in-chief of Reuters, Michel Griedenberg Yes Alessandra Galloni, respectively, in a joint statement. In it, they stressed that “Danish was an impressive journalist, a devoted husband and father, and a much appreciated colleague.”.

“Our hearts are with his family at this terrible time», They added. The journalist, who had worked at the agency since 2010 and who covered the war in Afghanistan e Iraq, as well as the protests Hong Kong and the earthquakes of Nepal, was part of the photography team of Reuters which was awarded in 2018 by the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh because of the offensive launched by the Burmese army In the state of Rajine (Where is).

The Taliban said on Wednesday they had taken control of the border post between Spin Boldak Yes Shaman, the second most important on the border between Afghanistan Yes Pakistan, after which videos circulated on social networks in which you see the group’s flag in the post.

The authorities of Afghanistan they accused Pakistan to issue a “official warning” a Acceptance on his plan to launch operations against the Taliban in the region, which was rejected by the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the day of this Friday. Afghanistan It has been plunged into an upsurge in violence in recent months, during which the Taliban have made significant territorial advances in the process of withdrawing international troops, which has raised concern in the international community over the ‘apparent inability of the security forces to confront the insurgents.

(With information from Reuters and Europa Press) .-

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