A prominent Taliban-aligned Afghan cleric was killed in a suicide bombing at a seminary in Kabul when the attacker detonated explosives hidden in an artificial leg on Thursday, Taliban officials and sources said.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the murder of Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani, saying he had been inciting violence against the militant Islamist group, al-jazeera reported.
“Very sadly informed that the respected cleric (Haqqani) was martyred in a cowardly attack by the enemies,” said Bilal Karimi, spokesman for the Taliban administration.
Four Taliban sources told Reuters the attacker was someone who had previously lost a leg and had hidden the bomb in his prosthetic leg.
“We are investigating who this… person was and who had brought him to this important place to enter Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani’s personal office. It is a very big loss for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” a senior Taliban official from the ministry said. of the Interior, referring to the name of the group for its administration.
Haqqani was a prominent Taliban cleric who supported access to education for women and girls, which has been a contentious issue in Afghanistan.
“There is no justification in Sharia (law) to say that female education is not allowed,” he said. in an interview with the BBC at the beginning of this year. “No justification at all.”
Haqqani explained: “All religious books have declared that female education is permissible and compulsory because, for example, if a woman gets sick, in an Islamic environment like Afghanistan or Pakistan, and needs treatment, it is much better if she is treated by a woman. . medical.”
He had survived two previous attacks, including a huge explosion in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar in 2020, claimed by ISIS, which killed at least seven people.
The Taliban say they have restored security since they took over when foreign forces withdrew nearly a year ago. However, in recent months there have been regular attacks, many claimed by ISIS militants, often targeting ethnic and religious minorities as well as Taliban leaders.
with post wires
