Khalil Haqqani, Taliban acting minister of refugees, was killed in a suicide bombing explosion Wednesday at the ministry’s headquarters in Kabul. He was a member of the powerful Haqqani network. File Photo by Samiullah Popal/EPA-EFE
Khalil Haqqani, Taliban acting minister of refugees, was killed in a blast Wednesday at the ministry’s headquarters in Kabul.
At least four others were killed as a suicide bomber disguised as a visitor triggered the bomb as Haqqani signed paperwork and was leaving his office inside the Ministry of Refugees compound to attend prayers, CNN and CBS News reported. Advertisement
Afghanistan’s Taliban Interior Minister and head of the Haqqani network Sarajuddin Haqqani confirmed the death of his uncle, who was a member of the powerful Haqqani network.
Khalil Haqqani was declared a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States in 2011 with a reward of up to $5 million for information on him.
CBS News, citing Taliban officials, said the attack is being investigated, but ISIS in Afghanistan has targeted many Taliban senior leaders and security forces for years.
According to CBS, the slain minister was the brother of Haqqani network founder Jalaluddin Haqqani.
The suicide bomber pretended to be physically disabled before detonating the bomb.
The Haqqani network carried out some of the biggest attacks during the Taliban’s insurgency for two decades after the United States-led invasion of Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York City that toppled the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Advertisement
The Haqqani network is a Taliban-affiliated militant group with ties to al-Qaeda operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Khalil Haqqani was managing a refugee crisis in Afghanistan, and last month criticized adjacent countries for alleged mistreatment of Afghan refugees imploring them not to expel Afghan refugees.
He urged Afghans to return to the Taliban-ruled country, asserting that Islamic Sharia law had established security in the nation.
