Explosion in Afghanistan kills Taliban regime’s minister for refugees Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani

The minister for refugees in Afghanistan’s Taliban government was killed in an explosion Wednesday at the ministry’s headquarters in the capital Kabul, two senior officials with Taliban regime told CBS News. The blast at the Ministry of Refugees killed minister Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani along with at least a couple of his colleagues, the officials told CBS News’ Sami Yousafzai.

Haqqani was the brother of Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the feared Haqqani network that was responsible for some of the most violent attacks during the Taliban’s two-decade insurgency following the U.S.-led 2001 invasion to topple the group’s previous government. 

He was also the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is currently serving as Afghanistan’s interior minister.

Violence has generally reduced in Afghanistan since the Taliban stormed back into power in the summer of 2021, when U.S. and allied NATO forces pulled out in a chaotic withdrawal that remains the subject of intense scrutiny in Washington.

The regional branch of the ISIS terror group, however, ISIS-Khorasan, has remained active in Afghanistan and regularly targets both Taliban regime officials and civilians and foreign nationals. Their attacks are seen largely as an effort to undermine the Taliban’s rule.

The Taliban officials told CBS News investigations were underway to determine who carried out the Wednesday attack that killed Haqqani, whom they said may have been the target of the blast.