On Wednesday, a suicide explosion in Kabul reportedly resulted in the death of a Taliban minister who was a prominent member of the renowned Haqqani family.
Additionally, the United States government had placed a bounty on his head for his involvement in terrorist activities. This was the highest-profile casualty since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan three years ago.
According to the Interior Ministry, Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation for the Taliban, was assassinated inside the ministry by a suicide bomber who allegedly belonged to the Islamic State and managed to avoid security and penetrate the premises.
According to the ministry, the explosion also claimed the lives of three other individuals.
Haqqani, who passed away at the age of 58, was a member of a feared family with the same name. This family had maintained ties to al Qaeda since the 1980s and was the driving force behind the Taliban’s most violent assault against American forces and the government in Kabul that was supported by the West up until the Taliban’s collapse and the frantic withdrawal of the United States in August of 2021.
Through his extensive connections in the Gulf region, Khalil, who is considered to be one of the most senior members of the Haqqani network, was in charge of fundraising efforts during the twenty-year insurgency that was led by the Taliban.
The United States of America had categorised him as a terrorist who had connections to al Qaeda and offered a reward of five million dollars for information regarding him.
The hefty and black-bearded Haqqani played a public part in establishing the Taliban’s new authority in Kabul after the Taliban returned to power three years ago.
He made his appearance in front of a jubilant audience in a central mosque in the capital city of Kabul a few of days after the takeover came about.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack; nevertheless, the Taliban pointed the finger of blame at Islamic State.
This is a sign that the extremist group continues to represent a threat, despite the fact that it has been responsible for a general drop in attacks since 2021.
The Taliban’s assertions that they have brought peace to the nation after twenty years of conflict and that they have the threat from Islamic State under control are called into question by the bombing that occurred in the heart of Kabul, which interrupts a period of tranquility in the capital of Afghanistan.
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