5 Women Workers Killed in Kandahar

Gunmen shot dead five female airport workers and their driver in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, underlining the threat to employed women in the country. The women were in a van driving to the airport in the southern Kandahar province when at least three gunmen on motorcycles opened fire at them, provincial spokesman, Samim Kheplwak, told AFP. “All the women and their driver aboard the van were killed. The attackers fled the area and we have launched an investigation,” he said. Kandahar International Airport Director Ahmadullah Faizi said the women were employees of a private company who would provide luggage and body search services for female passengers. He said the women were concerned about their security after receiving death threats from people who disapproved of their career. No one immediately claimed the attack, but women in Kandahar who work outside their homes have long been at high risk of attack by Taliban militants and other insurgent groups.