Khalil Haqqani, who is a senior leader of the prominent Haqqani militant network, became a minister in the Taliban's interim government after the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Afghanistan’s acting minister for refugees has been killed in an explosion in the capital, Kabul, according to his nephew and officials. Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani was killed on Wednesday in the blast that also claimed the lives of five others, local media said.

The government accused the Islamic State of being behind the attack, which struck at the heart of the Taliban’s power structure after years of essentially unchallenged dominance.