Female Lawmaker Assassinated in Libya

A Libyan security official says a female lawmaker in the outgoing parliament has been killed in a restive eastern city known as a stronghold of Islamic extremists.

The official says unknown assailants sprayed bullets at Fareha al-Barqawi near a gas station in the eastern city of Darna.

Al-Barqawi was a member of a liberal-leaning political bloc in Libya's outgoing parliament. Her husband was a longtime political prisoner under deposed dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

The official didn't provide further details and spoke on condition of anonymity for fear for his own safety.

Targeted killings have been rampant in Libya over the past two years in the absence of a strong police force, a unified military or an effective judiciary. The slayings are blamed on militias, which successive governments have struggled to control.