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December 10, 2012

Afghanistan: Female Official Shot Dead amid Mounting Attacks on Gov't Figures 
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In Afghanistan, a senior female official was shot to death by
unidentified gunmen today just five months after her predecessor was
killed in a bomb attack. Nadia Sediqi, acting head of the women's
affairs department in an eastern province, was killed on her way to
work. Her son told Reuters authorities had repeatedly ignored her
requests for protection, fueling concerns the government is disregarding
the safety of female officials. In a separate attack Monday, the police
chief of another province was killed by a roadside bomb. The New York
Times says the Taliban has stepped up their targeting of Afghan
officials in recent years, with U.N. data showing more than 300 people
were assassinated last year, the most since 2001. Meanwhile, a U.S.
servicemember was killed Sunday in a rescue mission that freed a
captured American doctor, becoming the latest of at least 385
international troops to die there this year.

 

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