KABUL, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Unknown gunmen have abducted a Bangladeshi aid worker in Afghanistan, a provincial governor said on Sunday, the latest in a spate of kidnappings of foreigners by Taliban insurgents and criminal gangs.

The man was taken from his office in Logar province, south of the capital Kabul, where he worked for the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC).

"He was kidnapped yesterday at noon by armed men, they also took 30,000 afghanis ($600)," Logar governor Abdullah Wardak told Reuters. "We told them to have security guards, but they did not." He said it was not clear whether the kidnappers were Taliban insurgents or criminals seeking a ransom.

"We can't deny it was the work of the Taliban, but there are also bandits and thieves operating with the Taliban insurgents. Our forces have been searching for the missing BRAC staff member, but so far we have no clues," Wardak said.

Taliban rebels have stepped up their campaign of kidnapping Afghans and foreigners this year, seizing 23 South Koreans in July and killing two of them before releasing the rest after more than a month.

A German man kidnapped in July is still being held by the insurgents who killed his German colleague after he suffered a heart attack. ($1 = 50 afghanis)

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