Afghan officials say a bomb blast has killed the governor of the province of Logar, in the eastern part of the country.
A Logar official said Governor Arsala Jamal was giving a speech at a mosque Tuesday to celebrate the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha when a bomb went off, killing Jamal and wounding several others. Reports say the explosive was planted in the governor's microphone.
Jamal was appointed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and was seen as a close ally. Prior to serving as governor in Logar, a strategic province south of Kabul, Jamal was governor of the eastern Khost province.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion, but Taliban militants have stepped up attacks against government officials and Afghan security forces ahead of the withdrawal of NATO combat forces set to conclude in 2014.
A Logar official said Governor Arsala Jamal was giving a speech at a mosque Tuesday to celebrate the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha when a bomb went off, killing Jamal and wounding several others. Reports say the explosive was planted in the governor's microphone.
Jamal was appointed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and was seen as a close ally. Prior to serving as governor in Logar, a strategic province south of Kabul, Jamal was governor of the eastern Khost province.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion, but Taliban militants have stepped up attacks against government officials and Afghan security forces ahead of the withdrawal of NATO combat forces set to conclude in 2014.