A suicide bombing inside the Afghan Interior Ministry on Wednesday killed Khalil Haqqani, the Taliban’s minister for refugees, and two others, The Associated Press reports, citing Interior Ministry officials.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to a lack of authorization to speak to the media, provided no further details regarding the attack.
Haqqani’s death marks the highest-profile casualty of a bombing in Afghanistan since the Taliban regained control three years ago. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
The slain minister was the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister and leader of the powerful Haqqani network, a key faction within the ruling Taliban. This familial connection adds a significant layer of complexity to the incident.
The Islamic State (IS) group’s affiliate in Afghanistan, a known rival of the Taliban, has been responsible for numerous attacks across the country. The group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Kabul’s Qala Bakhtiar neighborhood earlier in September, which resulted in at least six deaths and thirteen injuries. While there is no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday’s attack, IS remains a prime suspect given their history of targeting Taliban officials.
