Undated hand out picture provided by the Afghan Governemnt shows the slain governor of the province of Logar, Abdullah Wardak (AFP)
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – A bomb attack killed an Afghan provincial governor and his bodyguard near the governor’s home on Saturday, officials said.
The blast killed Abdullah Wardak, the governor of Logar province, said Zemeri Bashary, the Interior Ministry spokesman.
Wardak, a former Cabinet member, was in charge of a province right next to Kabul. Afghanistan has 34 provinces, each headed by a provincial governor.
Militants frequently target government leaders in their campaign of violence against the Afghan authorities. Meanwhile, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said one of its soldiers was killed Friday when insurgents fired on a patrol. No other details were released. More than 4,100 people have died in insurgency related violence this year, according to an Associated Press count based on figures from Afghan and Western officials.
An Afghan policeman and a man stand next to the wreckage of a car belonging to Afghanistan’s Logar province governor that was hit by a blast in Paghman, west of Kabul, September 13, 2008 (REUTERS)
Afghan police officers inspect a crater caused by an explosion in Paghman, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept.13, 2008 (AP)