Suicide bomb kills Taliban minister in Kabul
Taliban refugee minister Khalil Haqqani was killed in a suicide bombing inside the interior ministry in Kabul, marking the Taliban’s highest-profile casualty since their return to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
The explosion claimed the lives of six others as Haqqani was leaving his office, according to interior ministry sources.
Haqqani, a senior figure in the influential Haqqani network, had been designated a global terrorist by the United States. The Islamic State group (IS) later claimed responsibility for the attack.
IS’s “news agency” Amaq reported that one of their militants waited outside the minister’s office and detonated explosives as Haqqani exited.
A Taliban spokesperson confirmed that Haqqani was killed by IS, as reported by Reuters.
Khalil Haqqani’s brother, Jalaluddin Haqqani, was a renowned guerrilla leader who fought against Soviet forces in the 1980s and founded the Haqqani network, responsible for numerous attacks during the Taliban’s 20-year insurgency. Khalil’s nephew, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is also Jalaluddin’s son, currently serves as the interior minister in the Taliban government.
While the overall security situation in Afghanistan has improved since the Taliban gained complete control with the full withdrawal of foreign troops in 2021, there continue to be dozens of bombings and suicide attacks in the country each year.
Many have been claimed by Islamic State Khorasan Province, or ISKP, the regional affiliate of the so-called Islamic State group, a major rival of the Taliban.
