Budapest - The Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai told police leaders on Wednesday to come up with a package of measures to deal with a recent spate of armed attacks against Hungarian Roma.

A 45-year-old Roma woman was the latest to be killed in an armed attack on Monday. Her 13-year-old-daughter is in stable in hospital after undergoing lifesaving surgery for extensive shotgun wounds.

A preliminary report from police firearms experts suggested that the same shotgun may have been used in at least two similar attacks since last summer.

Government spokesman Domokos Szollár said the plan is for the police to create a "defensive network" to protect towns and villages with large Roma populations from further attacks.

Since July last year 55 Hungarian Roma, also known as gypsies, have been the victims of armed attacks, according to the state news agency MTI.

The unknown perpetrators, often using petrol bombs and guns, have tended to target Roma homes on the edge of rural villages.

The shooting before dawn on Monday in the remote village in eastern Hungary brought the number dead since the first fatal attack in November to six.

The funeral of the latest victim is scheduled to take place in the village of Kisleta on Friday, the local mayor said.(dpa)