Female Afghan MP survives deadly blast

2014-11-16 123

ROUGH CUT, NO REPORTER NARRATION

An outspoken female Afghan lawmaker survived a suicide bombing attack on her vehicle on Sunday, suffering slight wounds, but three civilian bystanders were killed, a police spokesman said.

Member of parliament Shukria Barakzai is a women's rights advocate and a close ally of new President Ashraf Ghani.

Police said Barakzai was slightly wounded but was in good condition.

Barakzai told Reuters in a 2005 interview that she had run a secret school for girls during the Taliban's five-year rule, during which harsh restrictions were imposed on women.

The bombing was the latest to target members of the U.S.-backed Afghan government, which is fighting a fierce onslaught by the Islamist Taliban movement as most foreign combat troops prepare to leave Afghanistan by the end of the year.

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