A prominent Afghan cleric with ties to the Taliban was killed Thursday when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device hidden in an artificial leg in a seminary attack in Kabul, officials and Taliban sources said.
ISIS He claimed responsibility for the killing of Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani, saying he incited violence against the militant Islamist group. Al Jazeera informed.
Taliban administration spokesman Bilal Karimi said: “It is very unfortunate that the respected cleric (Haqqani) was martyred as a result of a cowardly attack by the enemies.”
Four Taliban sources told Reuters that the attacker had previously lost a leg and hid the bomb in a prosthetic limb.
“We are investigating who this… person is and who brought him to this important place to enter Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani’s private office. This is a huge loss for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said one of the high-ranking Taliban officials of the Ministry of Interior, referring to the name of the group’s administration.
Haqqani was a prominent Taliban cleric who supported access to education for women and girls, a controversial issue in Afghanistan.
“There is no reason to say that women are not allowed to be educated in Sharia (law),” he said In an interview with the BBC earlier this year. “There is no basis.”
Haqqani explained: “All religious books state that women’s education is permissible and obligatory, because in an Islamic environment such as Afghanistan or Pakistan, if a woman falls ill and needs treatment, it is better to be treated by a woman.” doctor.”
He had survived two previous attacks in 2020, including a major explosion claimed by ISIS in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar that killed at least seven people.
The Taliban say they have restored security since their takeover as foreign forces withdrew nearly a year ago. However, regular attacks, many often claimed by ISIS militants, have targeted religious and ethnic minorities as well as Taliban leaders in recent months.
With post wires
