LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Gunmen shot dead an Afghan policewoman and injured her son-in-law in the restive southern province of Helmand on Thursday morning, the latest in a series of targeted killings in the country, an official said.
"Two armed men riding a motorcycle spread bullets on police officer Islam Bibi at around 7:30 a.m. local time. The shooting took place in provincial capital Lashkar Gah. But Islam Bibi died of her wounds later in a hospital where his son-in-law is also receiving medical treatment," a provincial government spokesman Omar Zwak told Xinhua.
The assailants managed to flee the scene after conducting the drive-by shooting in the province 555 km south of national capital Kabul. The police official was travelling to her office in provincial police department when the incident occurred, Zwak added.
Helmand has been notorious for growing poppy and the Taliban hotbed.
Afghan security services have repeatedly blamed Taliban militants for carrying out a series of assassination attacks, mostly in the country's southern and eastern regions.
The armed outfit which launched an annual rebel offensive in April has said anyone working for government and the NATO-led troops are legitimate target.
Last year, up to 698 civilians, mostly government employees and tribal leaders, were killed and 379 were wounded in targeted killings across the country.
On Monday, a Taliban roadside bombing killed four policemen, including a district police chief in northern Baghlan province, 160 km north of Kabul.
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