BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN)  -- Gunmen broke into the house of a women's rights activist in the volatile northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Thursday and beheaded her, police said. Iraqi Interior Ministry troops conduct inspections at a checkpoint in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in May. The victim was identified as Nahla Hussain, the leader of the women's league of the Kurdish Communist Party. She was alone in the house at the time of her death. It is not known what the circumstances were that led to the attack. Violence against women has been an ongoing problem in Iraq.
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Leader of Kurdish Communist Party women's league killed in home
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Motivation for woman's killing in Kirkuk not known
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Separately, officers linked to outlawed offshoot of Baath party arrested
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U.S military official says arrests appear to be politically motivated
One knowledgeable @placeholder politician told CNN he believes this and other discord at present in Iraq, such as attacks, arrests and political infighting, stems from internal conflicts between political parties ahead of the January 31 provincial elections.