A prominent Taliban cleric, Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani, was killed in a seminary in Kabul when the attacker detonated explosives hidden in a plastic artificial leg, according to officials and Taliban sources.
Very sad to know that respected cleric Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani was martyred in a cowardly attack by enemies, said Bilal Karimi, a spokesman for the Taliban administration.
It wasn't immediately clear who was behind the blast.
Four Taliban sources said the attacker was someone who had previously lost his leg and had hidden the explosives in a plastic artificial leg.
We are investigating who this person was and who brought him to this important place to enter the personal office of Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani. One senior Taliban official of the interior ministry said it was a very big loss for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
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.
The Taliban say they have restored security since they took over when foreign forces withdrew almost a year ago. In recent months, regular attacks, many of which are claimed by Islamic State, have taken place, targeting religious and ethnic minorities as well as Taliban leaders.