BAGHDAD (AP) — A police official says masked gunmen have shot dead a human rights activist and mother of four outside a supermarket in the southern city of Basra.

The official says Soad al-Ali, who has been involved in organizing protests demanding better services in the city, was killed Tuesday by gunmen who fled the scene after shooting at her and her husband in their car. Al-Ali was killed on the spot while her husband was wounded and was being treated in a hospital.

The assassination — the first such incident since protests erupted this summer — occurred in the Abbasiya district in the center of Basra.

It came as protests resumed Tuesday following a two-week hiatus. Protesters are demanding basic services and the release of those detained in previous demonstrations.