Taliban cleric killed in Kabul bombing

A prominent Taliban cleric, Rahimullah Haqqani, was killed in a bombing at his Islamic religious center in Kabul on Thursday, the militant group said. 

Taliban officials said Haqqani was killed by an attacked with explosives hidden in a plastic artificial leg, without elaborating on whether anyone else was killed or injured in the attack. 

The so-called Islamic State (IS) Islamist militant organization claimed responsibility for the attack on the seminary that killed Haqqani, according to group's Telegram channel.

There have been numerous attacks on the Taliban since the group took power in Afghanistan almost exactly one year ago. The Islamic State – Khorasan Province, a local affiliate of IS, has claimed responsibility for many of the attacks.

The attacks often target religious and ethnic minorities, and Taliban leaders.

Afghanistan's new rulers have been grappling with a major economic crisis as the international community has frozen funding to the country. 

Since taking over Afghanistan, the Taliban have also cracked down on civil liberties and women's rights. 

Who was the Taliban cleric killed?

Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said that Haqqani was a "great personality and academic figure."

The prominent Taliban cleric had survived previous attacks, including a 2020 bombing in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar in 2020 claimed by IS that killed at least seven people.

The name "Haqqani" indicates that he graduated from the Darul Uloom Haqqania Islamic seminary in northwestern Pakistan. The institution has long been associated with the Taliban.

sdi/wmr (AP, dpa, Reuters)