Explosion in Kabul kills Taliban Refugee Minister Khalil Haqqani

Afghanistan’s Minister for Refugees, Khalil Haqqani arrives to attend a gathering held to mark the first anniversary of their return to power in Afghanistan in Kabul on August 15, 2022. The Afghan minister for refugees was killed on December 11, 2024, in an explosion at the ministry’s offices in the capital Kabul, a government source told AFP.
| Photo Credit: AFP

A suicide bombing in the Afghan capital on Wednesday (December 11, 2024) killed the Taliban Refugee Minister and two others, Interior Ministry officials said.

The explosion struck inside the ministry, killing Khalil Haqqani, the Refugee Minister, officials said.

The officials provided no further details. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Haqqani was the most high-profile casualty of a bombing in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power three years ago. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

Khalil Haqqani is the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister who leads a powerful network within the Taliban.

The Islamic State group’s affiliate, a major rival of the ruling Taliban, has carried out previous attacks across Afghanistan.

In early September, a suicide bomber in the southwestern Qala Bakhtiar neighbourhood in Kabul killed at least six people and wounding 13 others. IS had claimed responsibility for the attack.