Afghan Minister for Refugees Killed in Suicide Attack

The Afghan Minister for Refugees, Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani, was killed on Wednesday in a suicide bombing at the Ministry’s offices in Kabul, according to a government source who spoke to AFP.

“Sadly, an explosion occurred at the Ministry of Refugees, resulting in the martyrdom of Minister Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani along with several of his colleagues,” the official said, requesting anonymity. The source confirmed that the attack was a suicide bombing.

Haqqani, who was on the U.S. sanctions list and was often seen carrying an automatic weapon, was the brother of Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the notorious Haqqani network, which has been behind some of the deadliest attacks during the Taliban’s two-decade insurgency. Haqqani was also the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the current Taliban interior minister.

The Haqqani family is known to be vying for influence within the Taliban, with reports suggesting a power struggle between their pragmatic faction and those aligned with the strict interpretation of Islamic law favored by the Taliban’s supreme leader in Kandahar.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, several senior Taliban figures, including provincial governors, commanders, and religious clerics, have been killed, primarily in attacks claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS) group.

While violence in Afghanistan has decreased since the Taliban’s takeover, ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan) remains active, frequently targeting civilians, foreigners, and Taliban officials with bombings and gun attacks.