Thursday at his madrassah in the Afghan capital of Kabul, a suicide bomber assassinated a top Taliban imam known for his fiery sermons against the extremist Islamic State (IS) group and support for female education.
A recent public proponent of allowing females to attend school Rahimullah Haqqani had escaped at least two prior murder attempts, including one in Pakistan in October 2020.
“Today, the madrasa of Sheikh Rahimullah was targeted, resulting in the death of Sheikh Rahimullah and one of his brothers,” Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran told AFP, adding that three others were injured in the explosion.
Bilal Karimi, a government spokesman, confirmed Haqqani’s murder “in an attack carried out by a cowardly foe,” but did not provide any other information.
Haqqani supported the right of girls to attend education; IS has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Despite sharing the same name, the preacher was unaffiliated with the Haqqani insurgent group network in Afghanistan.
IS later claimed responsibility for the attack via its telegraph channels, stating that the bomber detonated his explosive vest inside the cleric’s office.
However, Reuters reported that the assailant detonated explosives “concealed in a plastic prosthetic limb,” citing Taliban and government sources.
Four Taliban sources told Reuters that the assailant had previously lost a leg and concealed explosives in a plastic prosthetic limb.
“We are investigating who this… individual was and who brought him to this crucial location so he could access the office of Sheikh Rahmatullah Haqqani. It is a tremendous loss for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, according to a top Taliban official from the ministry of the interior.
Haqqani was one of the most “prominent supporters for the Taliban and one of the largest of those who incited to fight” IS, according to a translation of a statement from IS provided by the jihadist monitoring site SITE.
According to Taliban insiders, Haqqani was a prominent figure who had trained many of the group’s members over the years while holding no official role.
Countless Taliban officials expressed their sympathies over social media.
“You have satisfied your obligation. Destiny cannot be stopped, but the Muslim community has been abandoned,” tweeted former Kabul police spokesman Mobin Khan.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in August of last year, IS has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Afghanistan. Haqqani was notorious for his venomous lectures against IS.
Haqqani has supported the right of girls to attend education in recent months.
“There is no reason in Sharia for prohibiting female education. “No explanation whatsoever,” he told the BBC in a May interview.
He said, “All the holy writings declare that female education is allowed and required, since, for instance, if a lady in an Islamic society like Afghanistan or Pakistan becomes ill and needs medical care, she should be treated by a female doctor.
Since their ascension to power, the Taliban have enforced stringent restrictions on girls and women. They have not permitted the reopening of secondary schools for girls in the majority of the country.
