AP photographer missing in Libya

Associated Press, Apr 10, 2011

In this undated photo, Associated Press photographer Altaf Qadri
poses in Dhemaji, Assam, India. Qadri, an award-winning AP
photographer, went missing while covering the conflict in Libya,
the news agency said Sunday, April 10, 2011. Qadri became separated
from his colleagues near the eastern Libyan city of Ajdabiya while on
assignment Saturday according to the AP. (AP Photo)

NEW YORK (AP) -- An award-winning Associated Press photographer covering the conflict in Libya is missing, the news agency said Sunday.

Altaf Qadri became separated from his colleagues near the eastern Libyan city of Ajdabiya while on assignment Saturday, according to the AP.

"We have lost contact with our AP colleague, photographer Altaf Qadri, in eastern Libya. We are concerned about his safety and are taking appropriate steps to locate him," the agency said in a statement.

Qadri, 35, won a World Press Photo award this year for his poignant photograph of relatives mourning over the body of a man killed in a shooting by Indian police in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"We are, of course, most focused on making sure that Altaf is safe and secure and that we are reunited with him as quickly as possible, " said John Daniszewski, AP's senior managing editor for international news and photos. "If he has been captured or is being detained, we fully expect that he will be protected and kept out of harm's way."

Qadri, an Indian citizen, is a native of the Kashmiri city of Srinagar. He studied science at Kashmir University and worked as a computer engineer before taking a job as a staff photographer at a local Kashmiri newspaper in 2001.

In 2003, he joined the European Press Photo Agency and covered the conflict in Kashmir. In 2008, he began working for The Associated Press in the Indian city of Amritsar. His work has appeared in magazines and newspapers around the world and has been exhibited in the United States, China, France and India.

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