Taliban militants 'execute eight-month pregnant police officer in front of her ...

A pregnant policewoman has been shot dead by Taliban militants in front of her husband and children in a door-to-door execution, witnesses have said.

Banu Negar was killed at her home in Firozkoh, the capital of central Ghor province, amid increasing violence in Afghanistan under the new regime.

The mother, who worked in the local prison, was eight months pregnant at the time of the execution on Saturday.

The terror group told the BBC they had no involvement in her death and are investigating it. 

Spokesman Zabiullah Mujaheed said: 'We are aware of the incident and I am confirming that the Taliban have not killed her, our investigation is ongoing.'  

He added the Taliban has announced an amnesty for people who worked for the former administration.

Mujaheed said her death was caused by 'personal enmity or something else'.

Three gunmen arrived at the house and searched it before tying members of the family up and carrying out the killing.

Pictures have circulated online showing blood spattered walls in the house and her disfigured corpse.

The Taliban have been trying to project a more tolerant and moderate image of themselves since seizing power.

But a number of incidents of horrific violence have been reported in Afghanistan under the repressive regime.

Fighters have been seen going door to door hunting former members of the Afghan security forces and Western allies.

Earlier this week, a top Afghan female cop went on the run after suffering a 'brutal beating' from the Taliban.

Gulafroz Ebtekar, believed to be 34, was a deputy head of criminal investigations in Afghanistan's Interior Ministry and is seen as a role model for Afghan women with a notable media presence. 

She was singled out by the Taliban as a target at the gates outside Hamid Karzai international airport in Kabul, where she spent five nights attempting to secure a place on an evacuation flight.   

She said:  I sent messages to the embassies of many countries to save myself and my family, but all to no avail.' 

It comes after the Taliban attacked Afghan women protesters demanding equal rights as they fired shots into the air and 'let off tear gas' during a peaceful march yesterday.

The women's march - the second in as many days in the capital - began with demonstrators laying a wreath outside Afghanistan's defence ministry to honour soldiers who have died fighting the extremist group, before moving on to the presidential palace.

But the peaceful protest descended into chaos and turned violent as Taliban special forces armed with assault rifles waded into the crowd, firing shots into the air and sending demonstrators fleeing. 

Witnesses said Taliban forces also used tear gas to stop the protest, with women seen coughing and clutching their throats in videos shared widely across social media. 

One prominent protester, 20-year-old Maryam Naiby, said of the campaign in the wake of the Taliban seizing power: 'We are here to gain human rights in Afghanistan. I love my country. I will always be here.'

When the Taliban first gained hold of the country some two decades ago, women and girls were mostly denied education and employment.

Burqas became mandatory in public, women could not leave home without a male companion, and street protests were unthinkable.

While the group has promised a more inclusive government, many women in the country remain skeptical.