Bomb Kills Afghan Women's Affairs Ministry Official

NANGAHAR, Afghanistan -- Officials in Afghanistan say a woman who worked as a provincial director for the Ministry Of Women's Affairs has been killed in a bomb explosion.

Police say the bomb that killed Hanifa Safi, the women's affairs chief in the eastern Laghman Province, had apparently been attached to her vehicle.

Her husband and a young daughter were also reported injured in the July 13 attack in the Laghman capital, Mehtarlam.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.

But officials said the attack is similiar to previous assaults by Taliban militants targeting Afghan government officials and Afghan and foreign forces.

The United Nations condemned the attack.

"The deliberate killing of a brave woman and a public servant, dedicated to improving the situation of Afghan women and working for the safety and security of her country, is an outrage," said Jan Kubis, its representative to Kabul.


Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Radio Free Afghanistan