Arsala Jamal

Arsala Jamal (1966 – 15 October 2013) (also anglicised as Arsallah Jamal) was an Afghan government official, who served as governor of the provinces of Khost and Logar in Afghanistan. He was assassinated in a bomb attack in Logar province of Afghanistan on 15 October 2013.

Early life and education Jamal was born in Paktika Province in 1966. Khost lies adjacent to the Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan, base to militant groups. One of Jamal's priorities as governor was overseeing the mine's development. He was 47. The date is the first day of Eid-al-Adha, a major Muslim festival. Jamal was delivering a speech after an Eid prayer in Logar Province's main mosque in the provincial capital of Pul-i-Alam when the bomb went off. Jamal was killed instantly. Initial reports stated that the bombing was a suicide attack. Subsequent reports are of a remotely activated device, variously stated to have been planted in a microphone or hidden underneath a table or podium. The bomb injured 15–20 others, including the mosque's imam. At least one other person is reported to have been killed.

No organisation claimed responsibility for the attack in its immediate aftermath. The motivation for the attack is unknown. The Directorate of Local Governance agency has suggested it might be linked to Jamal's efforts to develop the Aynak copper mine. The capture of Latif Mehsud in Logar earlier in October has also been suggested as a possible motivation.

Jamal had survived several previous assassination attempts, including a 2007 car bomb targeting his convoy, and two attacks in 2009 targeting his Khost office. He is the second governor of Logar to be assassinated; Abdullah Wardak was killed by a roadside bomb in 2008.

He is survived by his wife and six children who live in Canada.