Guardian picks AFP's Kilic as photographer of the year

London (AFP) - The Guardian newspaper on Monday selected AFP's Bulent Kilic as its best agency photographer of the year, picking out a selection of his pictures from the Syrian border, Ukraine and his native Turkey.

The British daily's website announced the award and published 15 pictures by Kilic -- from protesters on fire on the barricades in Kiev to an overwhelmed Kurdish family fleeing the conflict in Syria.

Earlier this month, Kilic, 35, was named by Time magazine as its Best Wire Photographer for 2014.

Based in Istanbul, Kilic began the year covering anti-government protests in Ukraine, before going on to the Soma coal mine disaster in Turkey in May, in which 301 people died.

He returned to Ukraine in the summer to cover the aftermath of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in which 298 people died.

In October, using a telephoto lens from a hilltop by the Turkey-Syria border, he captured an explosion from which a lone Islamic State militant is seen running amid a mushroom cloud of dust.

December 29, 2014

   Manisa, 13 Mayıs (Bülent Kılıç)

İstanbul, 23 Mayıs (Bülent Kılıç)

İstanbul, 31 Mayıs (Bülent Kılıç)

Donetsk, Ukrayna, 26 Temmuz – Düşen MH17 Malezya Havayolları uçağının ardından bölgede cesetler aranıyor. (Bülent Kılıç)

Hrabove, Ukrayna, 2 Ağustos (Bülent Kılıç)

Şanlıurfa, 20 Eylül (Bülent Kılıç)

Mürşitpınar sınır kapısı, 28 Eylül (Bülent Kılıç)

Urfa, 23 Ekim (Bülent Kılıç)

Kiev, Ukrayna, 20 Şubat (Bülent Kılıç)

Kiev, Ukrayna, 22 Şubat (Bülent Kılıç)

Ankara, 12 Mart (Bülent Kılıç)

Agence France-Presse photographer Bulent Kilic (C) is seen in the Turkish town of Suruc, across the border from Syria on September 30, 2014 (AFP Photo/Yasin Akgul)