Afghan forces battle Taliban at border post with Pakistan

Islamabad: Afghan government forces battled Friday to retake a border crossing with Pakistan from Taliban insurgents, and the Reuters news agency said one of its photographers was killed in the area.

The Taliban had overrun the Spin Boldak crossing earlier in the week. On Friday, witnesses on the Pakistan side of the border said they saw intense fighting and reported seeing bodies.

Reuters said Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Danish Siddiqui, who was embedded with the Afghan special forces, was killed as the commando unit sought to recapture Spin Boldak. The agency said Siddiqui and a senior Afghan officer were killed in what they described as Taliban crossfire.

"We are urgently seeking more information, working with authorities in the region, Reuters President Michael Friedenberg and Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni said in a statement. Siddiqui was an Indian national. Afghanistan's ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay, tweeted his condolences. The Taliban have overrun dozens of districts in Afghanistan since the start of the final phase of the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops, after a 20-year military presence.