KABUL, Feb. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- A local official was shot dead by unknown armed men Thursday morning in the troubled southern province of Helmand in Afghanistan, local official said.

    "Armed men gunned down Mohammad Zarin, the administrative chief of Nad Ali district, at 8 a.m. (3:30 a.m. GMT) this morning on his way to office," district police chief Abdul Rahman told Xinhua.

    He blamed no group or individual for the attack and Taliban hasyet to make any comment.

    Over 1,500 people had been killed in Taliban-led militancy in 2005 and some 100 people have died in militias attacks so far thisyear. Enditem