Woman, 18, Gunned Down by Taliban

A fresh Taliban campaign of intimidation against women claimed another life Tuesday, when a hidden gunman shot and killed an 18-year-old woman in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The woman was leaving her job at an American development company. Police said the motive was unclear, though the Taliban have made a point of targeting women working for foreign organizations or pursuing education. "Every day the security situation gets worse and worse," said Ehsanullah Ehsan, a man who has devoted the last 16 years to educating girls and has lived in Kandahar since 2002. The city will be the focus of a NATO operation in coming weeks, to clear the area of Taliban fighters and bolster the anemic local police force.