KABUL/PESHAWAR, Aug 11 (Reuters) - A prominent Taliban cleric, Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani, was killed in an attack in a seminary in Kabul when the attacker detonated explosives hidden in a plastic artificial leg on Thursday, according to officials and Taliban sources.
"Very sadly informed that respected cleric (Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani) was martyred in a cowardly attack by enemies," said Bilal Karimi, a spokesperson for the Taliban administration.
"We are investigating who this ... person was and who had brought him to this important place to enter the personal office of Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani.
Haqqani was a prominent cleric in the Taliban who had survived previous attacks, including a large blast in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar in 2020 claimed by the Islamic State that killed at least seven people.
However, regular attacks, many of them claimed by Islamic State, have taken place in recent months, often targeting religious and ethnic minorities as well as Taliban leaders.
Persons:
Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani, Bilal Karimi, Haqqani, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Jibran Ahmad, Charlotte Greenfield, Raissa Kasolowsky, Emelia
Organizations:
Reuters.com, Taliban, Islamic, Thomson
Locations:
KABUL, PESHAWAR, Kabul, Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan, Pakistani, Peshawar, Islamic State