Kabul, 25 Sept. (AKI) - A top women's official in Afghanistan was shot dead by unknown assailants in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Monday. Reports say that gunmen on motorcycles struck Safia Ama Jan, head of the province's women's affairs department, as she was leaving her home. Eyewitnesses say that she died on the spot. No one has claimed responsibility for the shooting. Taliban fighters have killed many government officials in the past.Reports say that Jan served as the head of the women's affairs department in Kandahar since the hardline Taliban regime was ousted in 2001 by the US-led forces. An investigation has been launched into the attack.
Earlier in September, the Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack which killed Abdul Hakim Taniwal - the governor of the eastern Paktia province - the highest ranking official to die in the insurgency.