The Afghan Taliban government’s minister for refugees was killed Wednesday in an explosion at the ministry’s headquarters in the capital Kabul, several senior Taliban regime officials told CBS News. The explosion at the Refugee Ministry killed Minister Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani, two officials told CBS News’ Sami Yousafzai.
A senior official in the Taliban-run Interior Ministry later told CBS News that the minister was killed in a suicide bombing along with at least four of his associates. The official said an official statement was expected soon, but he revealed that the attacker had disguised himself as a visitor and pretended to have a physical disability. He targeted Haqqani with his explosive as the minister left his office to attend prayers.
Taliban officials told CBS News that investigations are underway to determine who carried out the attack, but the ruling Islamist group has faced repeated attacks on its senior figures and security forces for years, many carried out by the country’s ISIS affiliate .
Afghan Refugee Minister Khalil Haqqani (C) is escorted by security as he arrives to inspect a refugee camp near the Afghanistan-Pakistan Torkham border in Nangarhar province, November 2, 2023. / Credit: WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/ Getty
Haqqani was the brother of Jalaluddin Haqqanithe late founder of the infamous Haqqani Network. The closely linked group was responsible for some of the most violent attacks during the Taliban’s two-decade insurgency, in the wake of the 2001 US-led invasion to topple the previous Taliban government. He was also the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the network’s commander and currently Afghanistan’s interior minister.
After the collapse of the Western-backed Afghan government in 2021, Khalil Haqqani was one of the few Taliban commanders to enter Kabul. Known for his imposing presence, he often carried his rifle to official meetings, even when meeting other senior figures.
His death represents a major blow to the Taliban, and especially to the leadership of the Haqqani network. Both the Taliban and the Haqqani Network are designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government, and while they overlap and both hold key positions in the de facto regime that currently governs Afghanistan, they are also locked in their own internal power struggles.
The US government had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Khalil Haqqani.
Violence in Afghanistan has generally subsided since the Taliban returned to power in the summer of 2021, when US and allied NATO forces withdrew in a chaotic withdrawal that remains the subject of intense scrutiny in Washington.
However, the regional branch of the ISIS terror group, ISIS-Khorasan, has remained active in Afghanistan and regularly targets Taliban regime officials as well as civilians and foreigners. Their attacks are largely seen as an attempt to undermine the Taliban’s rule.
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