A bomb hidden in a microphone has killed an Afghan
provincial governor as he made a speech at a mosque
after Eid prayers in Logar, close to the capital Kabul.
Arsala Jamal was appointed by President Hamid
Karzai, like all 34 provincial governors, and he was seen
as a close ally of the president, acting as one of his
campaign managers in the 2009 election.
“This morning, governor Jamal was delivering a speech
after Eid prayers when he was killed by a bomb
planted in the microphone,” Logar provincial governor
spokesman Din Mohammad Darwish.
“The governor wanted to speak and congratulate
everyone on the occasion of Eid. At least 18 other
people have been wounded, including civilians and
government employees.”
Jamal only took up the Logar job in April after serving
as governor of Khost, on the border with Pakistan.
No group claimed immediate responsibility for the
blast, though Taliban militants often target provincial
government officials as well as Afghan soldiers and
police.
Mr Karzai condemned Jamal’s killing, saying the attack
inside the mosque showed the Taliban had no respect
for Islam.
Earlier in his presidential Eid address on Tuesday, he
again appealed for peace.
“Hamid Karzai called on the Taliban to work for the
development of their country, and to spare Afghan
security forces who are working to protect their soil,
national dignity, and to stop carrying out attacks,” his
office said.
“(The president) once again called on the Taliban and
their leaders not to throw the youth of this country
into destruction.”
Mohammad Jan Abid, head of the criminal
investigative department in Logar, confirmed the
mosque bombing and said a probe would be launched.
Volatile Logar, which lies to the south of the Afghan
capital, is seen as a key strategic region, often
described as a “gateway to Kabul” for Taliban
militants based in strongholds across the south and
east.
Security in the province has deteriorated in recent
years, with the Taliban holding sway in some areas
despite sustained Afghan and US military pressure.
Village-based Afghan Local Police (ALP) forces have
also been active trying to wrestle back control of
Taliban-held territory.
The Taliban have vowed to step up attacks as
Afghanistan prepares for presidential elections in April
and the withdrawal of 87,000 NATO troops by the
end of next year.
Taliban supremo Mullah Omar on Sunday said he
“rejected” the elections, which he alleged were being
manipulated by foreign powers, and called on Afghans
not to participate.
The hardline Islamist Taliban regime was driven from
power by a US-led coalition in 2001 for sheltering the
al-Qaida leaders behind the 9/11 attacks.
The US and Afghanistan are currently in the last
stages of talks on a Bilateral Security Agreement
(BSA) that would see several thousand US troops
remain in the country to aid stability and continue
training of local security forces.
Omar warned any US bases remaining on Afghan soil
“will never be accepted”, and that “armed jihad will
continue against them with more momentum”.
Eid ul Adha is a major public holiday across the Muslim
world, with mosques packed with devotees marking the
prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son when
God ordered him to.
Sheep and goats are sacrificed in many households
and the meat distributed among family, friends and
the poor. [AFP]
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