Reuters photographer Danish Siddiqui was killed Friday while covering battles between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters near a border crossing with Pakistan, the agency said, quoting an Afghan army official.

The official told Reuters that the Afghan forces were fighting to retake the Spin Boldak crossing when Siddiqui and an officer in the security forces were killed in an exchange of fire.

The agency reported that Siddiqui, an Indian national, joined the Afghan Special Forces in Kandahar this week.

"We are urgently seeking more information in cooperation with authorities in the region," Reuters President Michael Frydenberg and Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galoni said in a statement.

"Danish was an outstanding journalist, husband, devoted father and much loved colleague. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time."

Reuters indicated that Siddiqui had earlier reported that he had been hit by shrapnel in his arm while covering the battles.

He was given treatment and was recovering when Taliban fighters withdrew from the battles at Spin Boldak.

The agency said it could not independently verify the details.

Siddiqui was part of the team sharing the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Photography for its documentation of the Rohingya refugee crisis.

The agency added that he has been working with it since 2010, during which time he covered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Rohingya refugee crisis, the Hong Kong protests and the earthquakes in Nepal.