In 2018, Reuters photojournalist Danish Siddiqui won journalism’s highest Pulitzer Prize for reporting on Rohingya refugees, but the world was yet to see the courage of this fearless reporter. A few days ago Danish reached Kandahar in Afghanistan. This is the same area that was once the headquarters of the Taliban and today has once again witnessed a war-like situation. Danish was showing the world the power of Afghan Special Forces, but today that story of his is telling the story of his bravery.
On July 13, Danish tweeted – ‘Afghan Special Forces, elite fighters are deployed on different front lights of the country. I have come with these youngsters for some missions.’ He further told what happened during a rescue mission in Kandahar after battling in a combat mission all day. Danish wrote- ‘(Their) motive was to rescue a wounded policeman on the outskirts of Kandahar city from the clutches of Taliban infiltrators who had been imprisoned for 18 hours. This district is disputed between the government and the Taliban. The Afghan army was anticipating a Taliban attack and their vehicle was constantly being fired from machine guns, but more was yet to happen.
Taliban attacked
On reaching the place from where the policeman was to be rescued, rocket grenades started raining on the Afghan army and the Humvee carrying Danish. Danish wrote, ‘The Taliban was using Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) and other heavy weapons against this convoy in which 3 Humvee were destroyed. Gunners were sitting on top of these fast-moving vehicles and they were shooting at suspected Taliban fighters but they were difficult to see.
and rockets started raining
In the end, the Humvee in which Danish was sitting also became a victim of this attack. He wrote, ‘The Humvee in which I was sitting with other Special Forces was also attacked with at least 3RPG rounds and other weapons.’ Was lucky to take a picture targeting the rocket’s armor plate…’. Danish’s car was under attack but he continued with his work.
The attack was not over yet. The Afghan forces rescued the policeman and while returning, this convoy once again became a victim of bullets. Danish showed with his photography that he was not the only civilian who was caught in the middle during this entire incident. There was also a child standing on the side of the road with several ordinary Afghans.
Danish, who was continuously mission cover, was now tired. He shared a picture of himself resting on the ground, with the caption, “15 minutes of rest after 15 consecutive hours one mission after another.” Three days later, he returned to Spin Boldak to report with the Afghan army . Once again the Taliban attacked his convoy and this time Danish luck could not save him. The warrior who brought before the world the picture of thousands of innocents trapped between war and injustice fell asleep to the last.
