Afghans arrest two over murder of woman activist

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's police have arrested two men accused of gunning down a women's rights activist in the southern province of Kandahar, the interior ministry said on Thursday.

Sitara Achakzai, a member of the Kandahar provincial council and rights activist who held dual Afghan-German nationality, was gunned down on Sunday, and Taliban insurgents claimed responsibility.

The incident garnered attention abroad, especially in Germany, where Achakzai had long lived, and in Canada, which has a contingent of troops in Kandahar as part of a NATO force.

The Afghan interior ministry did not identify the suspects and gave no further details about the arrests.

The slaying comes amid escalation of Taliban attacks in recent years, the bloodiest period in Afghanistan since U.S.-backed Afghan forces drove the Islamists from Kabul in 2001.

On Monday, a couple was executed publicly for eloping in southwestern province of Nimroz by a group of pro-Taliban clerics, a provincial official said.

The Taliban have killed scores of pro-government officials as part of their campaign to drive out foreign forces stationed in the country.

(Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by Jerry Norton)