A prominent Taliban religious activist for women is killed in an IS suicide attack

Rahimullah Haqqani was a staunch opponent of the Islamic State, which tried to finish him off while he was in Pakistan.

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Famous religious Taliban Rahimullah Haqqaniwho defended women’s right to study or workhe was killed this Thursday in an IS suicide attack in Kabul while he was at his madrassa or Cornish school.

The attack took place around noon in the madrassa area of ​​Shashdrak, in the center of the capital, when a person who was “carrying explosives in an orthopedic leg” blew up near Haqqani, said Efe, a Taliban official who asked not to be named. “An investigation is ongoing to establish where he came from and who brought this person to Rahimullah Haqqani,” he added.

IS later pleaded guilty to the attack, in a statement quoted by the SITE Intelligence Group, a unit specializing in monitoring the websites of Islamist groups.

Condemning messages were coming soon from Taliban leaders, including from the deputy spokesman for the Islamist government, Bilal Karimi, who said he had received “with great sadness” the news of the “martyrdom” of religious scientist Haqqani.

According to information shared by some of his students and Taliban officials, Haqqani was from the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, bordering Pakistan, and settled in the Pakistani city of Peshawar during the American occupation of Afghanistan.

This religious leader was arrested by the US in the Afghan Bagram prison and held an active position in supporting Taliban troops against the United States by recruiting new fighters. With the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan a year ago, Haqqani settled in Kabul.

This religious leader was known for his passionate opposition to the Islamic State’s jihadist group (IS) who allegedly tried to end his life in several attacks in Pakistan. Islamic State remains the main security threat in Afghanistan and is competing intensely with the Taliban.

Haqqani also showed his public support for women’s rightsespecially in terms of education and work, a stance deviating from the official one taken by the Taliban, who have not allowed high school students to return to classrooms since regaining power a year ago.