Top Afghan Policewoman Shot and Killed

Shared predecessor's fate as violent campaign against women continues

A top policewoman in southern Afghanistan died early Monday after being shot by unknown attackers, months after her predecessor was also slain. Her death, one of the latest in a string of attacks on prominent Afghan women, could make it even harder to recruit female officers in a deeply conservative nation where just 1 percent of the police are women.

Sub-Inspector Negar, who like many Afghans goes by one name, was buying grass for her lambs outside her home on Sunday when two gunmen drove up on a motorbike and fired at her, said Omar Zawak, a spokesman for the governor of Helmand province. She suffered a bullet wound to the neck, and the attackers got away.