Explosion in Afghanistan kills Taliban regime’s minister for refugees Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani
refugee minister afghanistan taliban government The Taliban were killed in an explosion on Wednesday at the ministry’s headquarters in the capital, Kabul, multiple senior officials in the Taliban regime told CBS News. Refugee Minister Khalil ur-Rehman Haqqani was killed in the blast, two officials told CBS News’ Sami Yousafzai.
A senior official in the Taliban-controlled interior ministry later told CBS News that the minister and at least four colleagues were killed in a suicide attack. Taliban chief spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid later confirmed Haqqani’s death in the attack and blamed the country’s Islamic State affiliate.
Interior Ministry officials told CBS News that the attackers posed as visitors, pretended to have physical disabilities, and then targeted Haqqani with an explosive device as the minister left his office to attend prayers.
VICE KOHSAR/AFP/Getty
The Taliban is the Islamist group that has ruled Afghanistan for the second time since August 2021, and its senior figures and security forces have been subject to numerous attacks since then, many of which were carried out by the regional branch of the terrorist group known as ISIS. . Khorasan or just ISIS-K.
Haqqani is Jalaluddin Haqqanithe infamous late founder of Haqqani Network. The group has carried out some of the most violent attacks during the Taliban’s two-decade insurgency after a U.S.-led invasion in 2001 ousted the previous Taliban government. He is also the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the network’s commander and current Afghan Interior Minister.
Khalil Haqqani was one of the few Taliban commanders to enter Kabul after the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government in 2021. He was known for his imposing manner, often bringing his rifle to formal meetings, even when meeting other senior figures.
His death is a major blow to the leadership of the Taliban, particularly the Haqqani network. The Taliban and the Haqqani network are both designated terrorist organizations by the U.S. government, and while they overlap and both hold key positions in the current de facto regime in Afghanistan, they are also locked in their own internal power struggles.
The U.S. government has $5 million reward Obtain information leading to the arrest of Khalil Haqqani.
Violence in Afghanistan has generally declined since the Taliban returned to power in the summer of 2021, when U.S. and NATO-allied forces withdrew in a chaotic fashion, but the withdrawal remains the most serious situation in Afghanistan. Subject of strict scrutiny in Washington.
However, regional affiliates of the Islamic State remain active in Afghanistan and regularly target Taliban regime officials, civilians and foreigners. Their attacks are largely seen as efforts to undermine Taliban rule.
