A bomb blast Wednesday in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed the Taliban’s minister of refugees and repatriation, Khalil-Ur-Rahman Haqqani, and at least four associates.
Taliban sources said that the afternoon “suicide” bombing occurred within the ministry building in the Afghan capital as Haqqani was exiting his office. Several other individuals were reportedly injured.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the assassination of the minister, which marks one of the most significant attacks on hardline Taliban leaders since they returned to power in August 2021.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed the “martyrdom” of Haqqani in the attack he blamed on “Khawarij,” a term the de facto rulers use to refer to Islamic State-Khorasan or IS-K, an Afghanistan-based Islamic State affiliate.
Mujahid did not provide further details about the incident, nor did he mention other casualties or the nature of the attack.
“This reprehensible act of cowardice, culminating in his martyrdom at the hands of the Khawarij [outsiders], will neither diminish the resolve of Muslims nor succeed in undermining the resilience of our robust Sharia-based governance,” he stated.
The slain minister was responsible for overseeing the repatriation and resettlement of Afghan refugees, primarily those being sent back from neighboring Pakistan and Iran.
The United States’ Rewards for Justice website listed Haqqani as a global terrorist and offered a $5 million bounty for information leading to his apprehension.
“Khalil has conducted operations for the Taliban on orders from his nephew, Sirajuddin Haqqani,” and “has also acted on behalf of al-Qa’ida (AQ) and has been linked to AQ terrorist operations,” according to the Rewards for Justice site.
The elder Haqqani was considered a key member of the Haqqani network, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization headed by his nephew, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who serves as the de facto Taliban interior minister. He has a $10 million bounty on his head for his alleged terrorist activities.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar condemned the attack, saying his government was in contact with Kabul to ascertain further details.
“We are deeply shocked at the death of Acting Afghan Minister Khalil ur Rehman Haqqani and loss of precious lives as a result of a terrorist attack in the Afghan Refugee Ministry in Kabul today,” Dar said on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.
