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Craig F. Walker, Massoud Hossaini win photography Pulitzer Prizes

This photo dated December 6, 2011 shows Afghan Shia Muslim 12-year-old Tarana Akbari crying near dead and injured people after explosions during a religious ceremony at the Abul Fazel shrine in the centre of Kabul where Shia Muslims were marking the Day of Ashura. Agence France-Presse photographer Massoud Hossaini won the agency's first Pulitzer Prize for the picture on April 16 in the breaking news photography category.
This photo dated December 6, 2011 shows Afghan Shia Muslim 12-year-old Tarana Akbari crying near dead and injured people after explosions during a religious ceremony at the Abul Fazel shrine in the centre of Kabul where Shia Muslims were marking the Day of Ashura. Agence France-Presse photographer Massoud Hossaini won the agency's first Pulitzer Prize for the picture on April 16 in the breaking news photography category.Massoud Hossaini / AFP - Getty Images

This photo dated December 6, 2011 shows Afghan Shia Muslim 12-year-old Tarana Akbari crying near dead and injured people after explosions during a religious ceremony at the Abul Fazel shrine in the centre of Kabul where Shia Muslims were marking the Day of Ashura. Agence France-Presse photographer Massoud Hossaini won the agency's first Pulitzer Prize for the picture on April 16 in the breaking news photography category.
This photo dated December 6, 2011 shows Afghan Shia Muslim 12-year-old Tarana Akbari crying near dead and injured people after explosions during a religious ceremony at the Abul Fazel shrine in the centre of Kabul where Shia Muslims were marking the Day of Ashura. Agence France-Presse photographer Massoud Hossaini won the agency's first Pulitzer Prize for the picture on April 16 in the breaking news photography category.Massoud Hossaini / AFP - Getty Images

This photo provided by the Pulitzer Prize Board was part of a group of photos by Craig F. Walker of The Denver Post that won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, announced on April 16. The photo depicts Brian Scott Ostrom, an Iraq war veteran who returned home to the U.S. with a severe case of post traumatic stress disorder.
This photo provided by the Pulitzer Prize Board was part of a group of photos by Craig F. Walker of The Denver Post that won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, announced on April 16. The photo depicts Brian Scott Ostrom, an Iraq war veteran who returned home to the U.S. with a severe case of post traumatic stress disorder.Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post via AP

Massoud Hossaini, of AFP was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.
Massoud Hossaini, of AFP was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.Pulitzer Prize Board via AFP

Craig F. Walker of The Denver Post was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography Monday.
Craig F. Walker of The Denver Post was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography Monday.The Denver Post via Pulitzer Prize Board

Images of war's aftermath at home and abroad received top honors in the Pulitzer Prizes's two photography categories

Massoud Hossaini of Agence France-Presse won for Breaking News with his heartbreaking image of a girl crying in fear after a suicide bomber's attack in a crowded shrine in Kabul.

Craig F. Walker of the Denver Post won the Feature Photography category for his essay, "Welcome Home," which told the story of Scott Ostrom, a soldier who returned to United States from Iraq with a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Other finalists in the Breaking News Photography category included Carolyn Cole and Brian van der Brug of the Los Angeles Times for their illumination of epic disasters in Japan, and John Moore, Peter MacDiarmid and the late Chris Hondros of Getty Images for their coverage of the Arab Spring.

Finalists in the Feature Photo category included David Guttenfelder, Ng Han Guan and Rafael Wober of The Associated Press for their portrayal of daily life inside the reclusive nation of North Korea and Francine Orr of the Los Angeles Times for her portrait of the suffering by desperate families and misunderstood children who live with autism.

The Pulitzer Prize is awarded for achievements in newspaper, online journalism, literature and music composition. 

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