Afghan women's rights activist killed

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 13 (UPI) -- A United Nations official Monday called the weekend assassination of a prominent women's right activist in Afghanistan cowardly.

Sitara Achikzai was fatally shot by two motorcyclists outside her home in Kandahar Sunday after a provincial council meeting in southern Afghanistan, the U.N. assistance mission in Afghanistan said.

U.N. mission spokeswoman Nilab Mobarez said officials with the international organization were "sickened by the senseless murder."

"Those responsible for this callous act have clearly shown their disrespect for true Afghan honor and traditions," she said in a statement released by the United Nations in New York, adding there is no justification for such a cowardly act.

The Scotsman reported that the Taliban had claimed responsibility for the slaying. The Islamic extremist group says it will pay 200,000 Pakistani rupees, about $3,500, to anyone who kills a member of the council.