Afgan female TV workers shot dead by IS

Islamic State militants have said they shot dead three women who worked for a TV station in eastern Afghanistan. The women were killed in two separate but co-ordinated attacks as they made their way home from work in Jalalabad. A fourth was critically hurt. Tuesday's shootings are part of a wave of killings, with rights activists, judges and journalists among targets.

The Taliban are thought to be behind many of the incidents - but IS also has a presence, particularly in the east. The three women killed in Jalalabad were aged between 18 and 20, and had recently finished high school. They worked in the dubbing department of the privately-owned Enikas TV station, said its head, Zalmai Latifi.

Officials say Mursal Wahidi was attacked as she walked home. The two others - identified as Sadia Sadat and Shahnaz - were killed in a separate incident on the same night, also while returning home. "They are all dead. They were going home from the office on foot when they were shot," Mr Latifi told AFP news agency.

On Wednesday IS released a statement claiming its fighters had targeted the women but did not provide further details. Authorities had earlier arrested a man they said was the main suspect in the shootings and said they were looking for accomplices. They claimed the suspect detained was a member of the Taliban, the largest insurgent group in Afghanistan, but it denied involvement.