Taliban denies killing Indian journalist Danish Siddiqui, express regret over his death

A Pulitzer Prize winner, Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui was killed while covering the clashes in Kandahar’s Spin district. (Image by Mumbairt - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 - Wikimedia Commons)

The Taliban on July 16 denied any role in the death of Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui who was killed while embedded with the Afghan Defence Forces in Kandahar.

Speaking to CNN-News 18, Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said, “We are not aware during whose firing the journalist was killed. We do not know how he died.”

He also expressed regret over Siddiqui’s death, but added that journalists should “inform” them when entering war zones.

“Any journalist entering the war zone should inform us. We will take proper care of that particular individual. We regret that journalists are entering war zone without intimation to us. We are sorry for Indian journalist Danish Siddiqui’s death,” he added.

A Pulitzer Prize winner, Siddiqui worked with Reuters. He was killed on July 15 while covering the clashes in Kandahar’s Spin district – a key border crossing with Pakistan that the Taliban has taken over.

Siddiqui’s body was handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at 5 pm local time on July 16. He was a resident of Mumbai.