Award-winning New York Times foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid has died, from an apparent asthma attack, while on assignment for the newspaper in Syria.

Shadid was an expert on Middle East affairs and won praise - and a Pulitzer prize nomination - for his coverage of last year's Arab Spring uprisings for the paper.

He had worked at Associated Press, The Boston Globe and spent six years at The Washington Post before joining the New York Times in 2009, first as its bureau chief for Baghdad and then Beirut.

Shadid's earlier work at the Washington Post earned him two Pulitzer prizes, in 2004 and 2010. He has also been nominated for this year's Pulitzer for his Arab Spring reporting from Lebanon and Egypt - and the awards are announced in April.

Announcing the news of his death, the New York Times paid tribute to "an intrepid reporter, a keen observer, an insightful analyst and a lyrical stylist".

Boston Globe editor Martin Baron told the New York Times: "He had such a profound and sophisticated understanding of the region. More than anything, his effort to connect foreign coverage with real people on the ground, and to understand their lives, is what made his work so special."