U.N. worker killed in Cairo

CAIRO, Egypt — An Egyptian woman who worked for the United Nations as a freelance consultant was fatally shot in the head while driving through an upscale Cairo neighborhood on Sunday, security officials said.

It was not immediately clear whether the woman, identified as 41-year-old Nermeen Gomaa Khalil, was targeted or killed in a random crime. Police said she was shot by unidentified gunmen passing in another car, but no one has been arrested.

It was one of the more serious attacks in a crime rampage over the past year after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak and the withdrawal of police from the streets, which led to a deterioration in security.

Khalil was shot in broad daylight while driving her sport utility vehicle on one of Cairo’s busiest streets in the neighborhood of Mohandiseen, according to a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. Khawla Mattar, director of the U.N. Information Center in Egypt, said Khalil was a consultant with a women’s fund at the United Nations in Cairo and also worked at a medical lab.

During the 18-day uprising that led to Mubarak’s ouster,more than 23,000 prisoners were either let out or broke out of prison during a collapse of the police force. Police say that most of the crimes are being committed by about 5,000 escapees who have yet to be caught.

The police largely vanished from the streets during the uprising and though many have since returned, some parts of the city - in particular upscale districts - are much more dangerous than they were under Mubarak’s authoritarian rule.

BAHRAIN

Bahrain on Sunday deployed thousands of security forces to confront anti-government protesters ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Shiite-led uprising that seeks to loosen the ruling Sunni dynasty’s monopoly on power.

Opposition groups urged marchers to stream toward an empty lot dubbed “Freedom Square” outside the capital Manama. Some activists hoped to occupy the site before Tuesday’s anniversary and turn it into a new semi-permanent hub for the uprising to replace Pearl Square.

The central Manama traffic circle was the opposition’s headquarters during the first weeks of the Shiite majority’s campaign against the Sunnimonarchy. Security forces stormed the protesters’ encampment at the square after authorities imposed martial law in March and tore down the pearl sculpture that marked the site.

Bahrain’s ruling Sunni monarchy has warned it would not tolerate a spike in protests to mark the anniversary. Sporadic clashes occurred Sunday with police firing tear gas.

YEMEN

A security official said al-Qaida-linked militants publicly executed two Yemenis suspected of collaborating with the United States.

The official said one of Sunday’s executions took place in the town of Azan in Shabwa province and the other in the town of Jaar in neighboring Abyan province.

The official said the men were suspected of planting electronic devices that help U.S. drones strike militant positions. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with security rules.

In September, a U.S. drone strike killed U.S.-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and a second American, Samir Khan, who edited al-Qaida’s Internet magazine.

Information for this article was contributed by Ahmed al-Haj of The Associated Press.