Taliban affiliated media claims that ISIS operatives coordinated the operation to attack Khalil Rahman Haqqani from Baluchistan in Pakistan. They have said that one of the attackers, Usman, received training under the Pakistani regime.
Khalil Rahman Haqqani was killed in a suicide attack at the Ministry of Refugees a year ago, on December 11, 2024. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Taliban-affiliated media claims the ISIS attack on former Refugee Minister Khalil Rahman Haqqani was “planned and led from Pakistan’s Baluchistan”.
A documentary is released marking the first anniversary of Haqqani’s death, featuring a man claiming to be an ISIS member who led the attack. The video shows the individual “confessing” to the crime.
The Pakistani government hasn’t commented on the report. Recently, Pakistani officials and the Taliban government have been blaming each other for attacks and spreading unrest in their countries.
The video shows a man claiming he joined ISIS five years ago in Kabul as a “military operative,” making explosive vests and mines. He says he was tasked with targeting Khalil Rahman Haqqani and received instructions from Baluchistan, Pakistan.
The man in the video says he was appointed military chief for Khorasan Province by ISIS leaders and tasked with planning the attack on Haqqani. He names two accomplices, one was the attacker, and the other was a driver. He claims the plan was approved by their “ameer” in Baluchistan, Pakistan, and the attacker was equipped with explosives disguised as a disability aid.
The man in the video says the attacker, disguised as a disabled person, was sent to the Ministry of Refugees multiple times to “familiarize” himself with the location before the attack.
He says the attacker was sent to the Ministry multiple times to get familiar and identify Haqqani. When he reached Haqqani, he detonated himself. The man in the video adds that he was arrested after the attack, and a third person was killed in Taliban operations.
The Taliban government hasn’t released an official investigation report on Haqqani’s death. A video showed a man with a plastered hand entering the Ministry, later identified as the attacker.
Khalil Rahman Haqqani, uncle of Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, was killed in a suicide attack at the Ministry of Refugees on December 11, 2024. ISIS had claimed responsibility for the targeted killing.
The ISIS-affiliated Amaq News Agency released the attacker’s photo, saying he detonated himself as Haqqani was leaving the office. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid called Haqqani’s killing a “Khawarij” act, referring to extremists who declare others apostates while claiming to be Muslim themselves.
Khalil Rahman Haqqani was a prominent Afghan militant and uncle of Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani.
Khalil Rahman Haqqani was born in 1966 in Kandoz, Gardez, Paktia, Afghanistan. He was released from Pakistani custody in 2007, along with Akhtar Muhammad Usmani, his two brothers, and others, in exchange for 350 Pakistani soldiers held captive by militants in South Waziristan’s Masood area.
Haqqani was active in eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal areas until the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021. He was among the first Taliban officials to enter Kabul. The US had listed him in 2011, offering a $5 million bounty, but later removed him from the list.
He was a prominent Taliban leader, often seen at gatherings and announcing the joining of various figures with the new Taliban government. He was appointed Minister of Refugees and Repatriation since the Taliban cabinet’s announcement and remained in that position until his death.
