ISIS has claimed responsibility for the killing of Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani, saying he was inciting violence against the militant Islamist group, Al Jazeera reported. “We are very saddened to learn that the respected cleric (Haqqani) was martyred in a cowardly attack by enemies,” said Bilal Karimi, a spokesman for the Taliban command. Four Taliban sources told Reuters the attacker was someone who had previously lost his leg and had hidden the bomb in his prosthetic limb. “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. It is a very huge loss for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said a senior Taliban interior ministry official, referring to the organization’s name for its administration. Haqqani was a prominent Taliban cleric who advocated for women and girls to have access to education, a contentious issue in Afghanistan. “There is no justification in sharia (law) to say that women’s education is not allowed,” he told the BBC earlier this year. “No excuse” Sources said the suicide bomber detonated explosives hidden inside his plastic prosthetic leg, killing the priest at a seminary. AFP via Getty Images Haqqani explained: “All the religious books say that female education is permissible and obligatory because, for example, if a woman falls ill, in an Islamic environment like Afghanistan or Pakistan, and she needs treatment, it is much better to receive treatment from a woman. doctor.” It had survived two previous attacks, including a major explosion in the northern Pakistani city of Peshawar in 2020, claimed by ISIS, that killed at least seven people. The Taliban say they have restored security since taking over after foreign forces withdrew nearly a year ago. However, regular attacks, many claimed by ISIS fighters, have taken place in recent months, often targeting religious and ethnic minorities as well as Taliban leaders. With Post cables
