IPI is saddened by the passing of reporter Anthony Shadid of the New York Times, who died of an apparent asthma attack while on assignment in Syria. Shadid, 43, is survived by his parents, wife and two children.

The two-time Pulitzer Prize — winning journalist and author died while crossing the Syrian-Turkish border after a week-long reporting trip, reports said. Shadid and photographer Tyler Hicks had entered the country with a group of guides on horseback in order to report on the uprising against the Syrian government; on their way out of the country, Shadid had an apparent massive asthma attack and died, reports say.

Shadid’s father Buddy told reporters that his son had asthma all his life and that “he’s more allergic to [horses] than anything else.”

As the New York Times Middle East correspondent, Shadid was no stranger to hostile situations and – along with Hicks and two others New York Times journalists – was abducted for days while reporting on the Libyan uprising last year.  He was also shot in the West Bank in 2002, according to reports.

“Anthony died as he lived – determined to bear witness to the transformation sweeping the Middle East and to testify to the suffering of people caught between government oppression and opposition forces,” New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abrahamson reportedly wrote.

“We mourn the loss of this courageous reporter, who repeatedly put his own life in danger so that the world could better understand the complex story of the Middle East as it unfolded,” said IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills. “We send our heart-felt condolences to his family and colleagues.”