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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Top Afghan policewoman shot dead | Top Afghan policewoman shot dead |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Gunmen in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar have killed the country's most prominent policewoman, officials say. | Gunmen in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar have killed the country's most prominent policewoman, officials say. |
| Lt-Col Malalai Kakar, head of Kandahar's department of crimes against women, was shot in her car as she was about to leave for work. | Lt-Col Malalai Kakar, head of Kandahar's department of crimes against women, was shot in her car as she was about to leave for work. |
| Her son was also wounded in the attack, and is said to be seriously injured. | Her son was also wounded in the attack, and is said to be seriously injured. |
| Taleban rebels, who banned women from joining the police when they were in power, said they had carried out the shooting. | Taleban rebels, who banned women from joining the police when they were in power, said they had carried out the shooting. |
| "We killed Malalai Kakar," a Taleban spokesman told AFP news agency. | "We killed Malalai Kakar," a Taleban spokesman told AFP news agency. |
| "She was our target, and we successfully eliminated our target." | "She was our target, and we successfully eliminated our target." |
| The BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul says Ms Kakar was one of only a few hundred female police officers in Afghanistan and that she had previously received death threats. | |
| Prominent | Prominent |
| Ms Kakar, who was reported to be in her early 40s and had six children, was one of the most high-profile women in the country. | Ms Kakar, who was reported to be in her early 40s and had six children, was one of the most high-profile women in the country. |
| She has figured prominently in the national and international media, partly due to a famous episode in which she killed three would-be assassins in a shoot-out - although she said her everyday life involved tackling theft, fights and murders. | She has figured prominently in the national and international media, partly due to a famous episode in which she killed three would-be assassins in a shoot-out - although she said her everyday life involved tackling theft, fights and murders. |
| Ms Kakar joined Kandahar's police force in 1982, after her father and brothers were also police officers. | Ms Kakar joined Kandahar's police force in 1982, after her father and brothers were also police officers. |
| But when the hard-line Taleban regime took over Afghanistan she was prevented from working. | But when the hard-line Taleban regime took over Afghanistan she was prevented from working. |
| Working in the police force in Afghanistan has become an increasingly dangerous occupation, says our correspondent. | |
| According to the Ministry of Interior, more than 700 police officers were killed in the first six months of 2008. | |
| The majority of the casualties were killed in suicide attacks and roadside bombings. | |
| In June, another woman police officer was gunned down in Herat province in a killing believed to have been the first of its kind. | |
| Kandahar is a key battleground of the Taleban insurgency, where Afghan and foreign troops are fighting the rebels. | Kandahar is a key battleground of the Taleban insurgency, where Afghan and foreign troops are fighting the rebels. |