AFGHANISTAN: Unidentified gunmen have shot dead the most senior woman police officer in southern Afghanistan.
Lieut-Col Malalai Kakar (45) was killed in her car yesterday in an area of Kandahar city where she had resumed her job as an officer after US-led forces in 2001 overthrew the Taliban government which had barred women from most outdoor work.
She had led many police searches in Kandahar leading to seizures of arms and drugs. She was also the head of the department of crimes against women.
"Unknown gunmen from a car killed her when she was heading to her office," provincial spokesman Zalmai Ayoubi said, adding the motive was being investigated. Her son was wounded in the attack, witnesses said.
She had survived several assassination attempts.
Kandahar is part of the main bastion for Taliban Islamists, but drug smugglers, criminals and some tribal rivalries have also contributed to some violence there.
Lieut-Col Kakar's killing comes amid escalation of violence in Afghanistan this year, the bloodiest period since US-led troops overthrew the Taliban government.
Separately, a raid by US-led coalition forces killed three civilians in Asmar district of eastern Kunar province overnight, a provincial police official said.
The coalition confirmed the air strike saying it targeted an al-Qaeda roadside bomb and suicide bomber network responsible for numerous attacks in the Kunar region.
It said two militants were killed in the raid, adding that it had no immediate information about civilian casualties. - (Reuters)