Taliban religious leader killed in suicide attack in Afghanistan

Taliban religious leader Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani, known for his fiery speeches against the Islamic State jihadist group, and one of his brothers were killed today in a suicide attack claimed by IS.

Haqqani, who has recently come out publicly in favor of allowing Afghan girls to attend school, has survived at least two previous assassination attempts, one of which was in Pakistan in October 2020.

“Sheikh Rahimullah’s seminary was targeted today and because of that, he and one of his brothers were martyred,” said Khalid Zadran, a Kabul police spokesman, adding that three other people were injured in the blast, according to newer account.

Government spokesman Bilal Karimi, who confirmed Haqqani’s death, said the suicide bomber “managed to break into the office of one of the most prominent supporters of the Taliban and one of the biggest instigators among them in the fight” against IS, before detonating the explosives with which he was belted.

According to Taliban sources, Haqqani, despite not holding an official position, was an influential figure who had taught many members of the organization over the years.

Dozens of Taliban members and officials expressed their condolences on social media. “You have fulfilled your duty. Destiny escaped the impossible, but the Muslim community was left an orphan,” Mobin Khan, a former Kabul police spokesman, tweeted.

Haqqani was known for his angry speeches against the Islamic State group, which has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over the country a year ago.

In recent months, Haqqani had also supported the right of girls to go to school. “There is no justification within sharia (Islamic law) to say that women’s education is not allowed, no justification at all,” she told the BBC in an interview in May.

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