Top Afghan Policewoman Killed by Taliban Assassins

Two Taliban gunmen shot and killed Malalai Kakar, the head of Kandahar city's department of crimes against women, as she left for work on Sunday, according to BBC News. Reported by Agence France-Presse, Kakar, a mother of six, led a team of 10 other female police officers investigating crimes against women. Her 18-year old was also seriously wounded.

According to AFP, Taliban spokesman Yousef Ahmadi claimed responsibility for Kakar's murder. "We killed Malalai Kakar," Ahmadi said. "She was our target and we successfully eliminated our target." Since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan that ended the Taliban’s extremist regime, Taliban militants have regularly targeted women-run schools, projects, and businesses, according to the Associated Press.

In an EU statement obtained by the AP, the international organization condemned Kakar's murder. "Any murder of a police officer is to be condemned, but the killing of a female police officer whose service was not only to her country, but to Afghan women, to whom Ms. Kakar served as an example, is particularly abhorrent."

Media Resources: Associated Press 9/29/08, Agence France-Presse 9/28/2008, BBC News 9/28/2008

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