Wardak was a cabinet member in the transitional government between 2002 and 2004

Abdullah Wardak was assassinated as he left his house in Paghman to drive the 30km to work in the capital.

The Taliban said it carried out Saturday's killing.

The Afghan interior ministry said that a roadside bomb had been planted by "enemies of Afghanistan".

Zemarai Bashary, an interior ministry spokesman, told the AFP news agency: "This morning his car hit a bomb on the side of the road. The governor has been martyred."

Abdul Razaaq, police chief of the district, said the bomb was remotely detonated  as the governor's vehicle passed at 8am (03:30 GMT).

Strategic significance

Logar province has seen a rise in Taliban activity in recent months, including the killing of three female Western aid workers on August 14 and their Afghan driver.

"Logar neighbours Kabul and it is a new front line," Khodr reported. "The Taliban does have a strong presence in the area, along with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-e-Islami group.

"You feel it's a very dangerous area, and the government presence there is very weak.  You see banners saying 'Death to America' and 'The police is our enemy.' Some say the Taliban is really getting closer to the capital."

Wardak was the first provincial governor to be killed since the assassination of Hakim Taniwal, the governor of eastern Paktia province, in September 2006.

During the 2001 US-led invasion to force out the Taliban, Wardak commanded one of the armed Afghan groups fighting with the US military.

Wardak had been a commander in one of several resistance factions fighting against the Soviet invasion in the 1980s. Between 2002 and 2004 he was the minister for martyrs and the disabled in the transitional Afghan government.

Nearly 3,000 people have been killed in fighting in Afghanistan this year, the bloodiest period since the Taliban movement was forced from power.

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