Unknown gunmen opened fire on the vehicle of Zarifa Ghafari, the mayor of Maidan Sher in Maidan Wardak province, in Kabul city on Sunday afternoon, Ghafari said.

The incident happened in Khosha Khan area of Kabul city and “the gunmen fled after the shooting,” she said.

“No other people were hurt in the incident,” according to Ghafari.

The Ministry of Interior in a statement said that the incident happened about 1:30 pm local time in PD5 of Kabul city and “the police have begun efforts to arrest the gunmen.”

On March 6 the US State Department awarded Ghafari the International Women of Courage (IWOC) award alongside ten other women from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Nicaragua, Syria, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

The US State Department said that Ghafari stood up to opposition:

"Despite death threats, Ms. Ghafari came back, defying her conservative critics and their narrative that a woman is unfit to lead." US State Dept said.

Ghafari was appointed to the position in 2018, but her appointment was held up by officials, and she did not start her tenure officially until March 2019.