Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Afghan security forces inspect the entrance of the mosque where Logar Governor Arsala Jamal was killed by a bomb

The governor of Afghanistan's eastern Logar province has been killed in a blast in a mosque, during prayers for the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

Arsala Jamal was greeting worshippers in the mosque when a bomb apparently hidden in a microphone went off.

At least 18 other people were injured and several were in a critical condition, Mr Jamal's spokesman said.

Logar is south of the capital, Kabul, and the Taliban increasingly control much of the countryside there.

Profile: Arsala Jamal Born in 1966 in Paktika province, Arsala Jamal was a well-travelled man with crucial experience in rural development

He was close to President Hamid Karzai and even worked as his campaign manager in 2009

Schooled in Kabul and Peshawar, Pakistan, he went to Malaysia to study for his economics degree

He migrated to Canada with his family but returned to the country after the US-led invasion

When back in Afghanistan he worked for the Central Bank and Care International, advised the ministry for rural affairs and also served as governor of Khost province

He also worked as the acting minister for border and tribal affairs

Analysts say that Jamal was known as an active and competent politician with experience of dealing with tribal elders and foreign donors

Appointed to the Logar job in April 2013 he planned to champion the development of a massive copper mine which has attracted Chinese investment Grim consequences of Governor Jamal's death

The attack took place at Logar's main mosque in the provincial capital of Pul-e-Alam, said spokesman Din Mohammed Darwesh. Mr Jamal was killed instantly.

"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," the spokesman told AFP news agency.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

However, Logar and its neighbouring province Wardak have become increasingly lawless in recent years, says the BBC's David Loyn in Kabul.

The insecurity threatens the southern fringes of Kabul, and thousands of people have fled to the capital in response.

The Taliban have threatened to increase attacks against government figures during the presidential campaign which will begin next month, our correspondent says.

Increasingly lawless

Mr Jamal was appointed as governor in April after returning to Afghanistan from Canada. Previously he was governor of another eastern province, Khost - which shares a border with Pakistan's tribal region of Waziristan.

He was an expert in rural development who had worked for foreign NGOs before being appointed to government positions.

Image caption Arsala Jamal was appointed as governor in April after returning to Afghanistan from Canada

Image caption No-one has admitted carrying out the attack on the mosque

The governor was also close to President Hamid Karzai and even worked as his campaign manager in the 2009 elections.

High-profile killings September 2008 : Abdullah Wardak, governor of Logar, killed by roadside bomb

: Abdullah Wardak, governor of Logar, killed by roadside bomb October 2010 : Muhammad Omar, governor of the northern province of Kunduz, killed in blast

: Muhammad Omar, governor of the northern province of Kunduz, killed in blast 12 July 2011: Ahmed Wali Karzai, half-brother of President Hamid Karzai and leading power broker, assassinated in Kandahar

Ahmed Wali Karzai, half-brother of President Hamid Karzai and leading power broker, assassinated in Kandahar 20 September 2011: Former president and chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council, Burhanuddin Rabbani, killed by bomber in Kabul

Former president and chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council, Burhanuddin Rabbani, killed by bomber in Kabul September 2013: Lieutenant Negar, most senior woman police officer in Helmand, dies after being shot

The BBC's Dawood Azami says the killing is part of a series of assassinations that have taken place in Afghanistan.

Over the past 10 years about 1,000 mid-level leaders in Afghanistan have been assassinated, including provincial and district governors, religious scholars and tribal elders.

Logar, known as the "gate of Kabul", is of strategic importance because if the Taliban control swathes of the province it is easier for them to launch attacks in the capital, says our correspondent.

Mr Jamal also planned to champion the development of the world's second largest copper mine, which has attracted Chinese investment. This may have also made him a target, says our correspondent.

The attack comes just days after the arrest of senior Pakistan Taliban commander Latif Mehsud by US forces. He was said to be a confidante of the Pakistani Taliban leader, Hakimullah Mehsud.