An Afghan woman wearing a police uniform shot and killed a civilian contractor working for Western forces in the police chief's compound in Kabul.

The woman approached her victim as he was walking in the compound. She drew a pistol and shot him once.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN MADOWER, ISAF SPOKESMAN, SAYING:

"The perpetrator is in custody of the Afghan authorities, she was dressed as a member of the Afghan uniform police although her affiliation with the police is not known at this point in time.'

Women in the police force have recently been showcased as examples of the Afghan-Western efforts to promote rights in the new Afghanistan.

But the attack is bound to raise troubling questions about the direction of an unpopular war.

Insider attacks now account for one in every five combat deaths, and 16 percent of all U.S. combat casualties.