Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui dies in Afghanistan clashes

Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize winner, has been killed in Kandahar while on a reporting assignment embedded with Afghan security forces, Afghan ambassador Farid Mamundzay said on Friday.

"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," Mamundzay tweeted.

Afghanistan's Tolo News channel cited sources as saying that Siddiqui was killed in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar. It didn't give further details.

Siddiqui had recently reported on a mission by Afghan special forces to rescue a policeman who had been cut off from others and had fought the Taliban for hours on his own. His reports included graphic images of vehicles of the Afghan forces being targeted with rockets.

Fierce fighting has been reported in and around the southern city of Kandahar, the capital of the province of the same name. The Taliban have captured key districts near the city and engaged Afghan forces in a police district on the outskirts of the capital.

India evacuated some 50 diplomats, support staff and security personnel from the consulate in Kandahar on an Indian Air Force flight on July 10 amid growing concerns about the security situation in the city.

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.