Funeral held for slain Afghan Taliban minister; IS-K claims credit for killing

 

Sirajuddin Haqqani (C), the Taliban interior minister, attends the funeral ceremony of Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani, the Minister for Refugees and Repatriation, in Sarana of Paktia province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Dec. 12, 2024.

Islamabad —

Thousands of mourners assembled in eastern Afghanistan Thursday for the funeral of the high-profile Taliban minister of refugees, a day after his assassination in a suicide bombing for which a regional Islamic State affiliate has claimed responsibility.

Minister Khalil-Ur-Rahman Haqqani was targeted while he was exiting his office building in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, marking the most significant casualty inflicted on the Taliban since they swept back to power in August 2021.

The blast also killed and injured several ministry employees, but Taliban officials have refrained from commenting on the reported casualties from what they denounced as a "cowardly attack” against Haqqani.

The funeral was held in Haqqani’s native eastern Afghan province of Paktia, which borders Pakistan, where senior Taliban leaders, ministers, and other officials were also in attendance.

The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan, IS-Khorasan or IS-K, through its Amaq News Agency media wing, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying a bomber detonated an explosive vest inside the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation.

People attend the funeral prayer of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Dec. 12, 2024.

The violence has prompted de facto Afghan authorities to conduct regular counterterrorism operations that they claim have degraded the group’s ability to pose any significant threat.

However, critics dispute Taliban claims, citing the continued launch of high-profile IS-K attacks in the country, which is reeling from years of war and natural disasters.

U.N. assessments and U.S. officials have described the group as a significant threat to Afghanistan and regional stability at large.

 

By：VOA