Afghanistan refugees minister killed by suicide blast

Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani was listed on US and UN sanctions lists, with a US$5 million reward from Washington for information on him. (EPA Images pic)

KABUL: The Afghan minister for refugees was killed on Wednesday in a suicide bombing at the ministry’s offices in the capital Kabul, government sources said, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility for the attack.

Taliban authorities had already blamed IS for the “cowardly attack”, which a government official told AFP had killed minister Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani and a number of his colleagues.

The official added that the explosion – the first attack targeting a minister since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 – was caused by a suicide blast.

IS issued a photo of the fighter it said was behind the bombing, writing that he detonated an explosive vest after he “penetrated the security barriers inside the headquarters”, according to a statement on its Amaq news agency, as translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid paid tribute to the minister, saluting a “great fighter” who “fell as a martyr”.

The roads leading to the ministry were blocked by Taliban authorities, with security personnel posted on surrounding rooftops.

The ministry’s account on X said training workshops were held in recent days on its premises.

The ministry’s corridors are often full of numerous displaced people coming to request assistance or to follow up on resettlement cases in a country that still has more than three million war-displaced.

Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani – who seldom appeared without an automatic weapon in his hand – was the brother of Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the feared Haqqani network responsible for some of the most violent attacks during the Taliban’s two-decade insurgency.

He was also the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the current interior minister.

Khalil Ur-Rahman’s nephew, Anas Haqqani, praised his uncle, saying he “reached the highest level of martyrdom”, and condemned his killing by “those who apparently claim to follow the blessed religion of Islam”, in a post on X.

Power struggle?

The Haqqanis are said to be engaged in a struggle for influence within the Taliban authorities.

According to press reports, they are pitted as a pragmatic faction up against supporters of the severe interpretation of Islamic law in line with the Taliban’s supreme leader based in Kandahar.

Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani, who was 58, had been on US and UN sanctions lists, with Washington offering US$5 million for information on him.

Several senior Taliban leaders have been killed since their return to power, including provincial governors, commanders and religious clerics, mostly in attacks claimed by IS.

Violence has waned in Afghanistan since the Taliban forces took over the country in 2021, ending their war against US-led Nato coalition forces.

However, the regional chapter of IS, known as Islamic State Khorasan, is active in Afghanistan and has regularly targeted civilians, foreigners and Taliban officials with gun and bomb attacks.

In Kabul, explosions regularly echo through the city, but while local sources report them, they are rarely confirmed by Taliban authorities.

At the end of October, a child was killed and about 10 people were wounded in a bomb attack on a downtown market.

In November, IS claimed responsibility for a gun attack that left 10 people dead at a Sufi shrine in northern Baghlan province.

The Taliban authorities frequently announce the arrest or killing of jihadist group members – even as they continue to claim that the IS threat has been eradicated in the country.

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