Update (1830 EST): The Taliban has denied this report that Haqqani was killed.
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— Tajuden Soroush (@TajudenSoroush) September 7, 2022
Update (1541 EST): The Taliban Foreign Affairs Minister has demanded that Pakistan not allow U.S. drones to use their airspace and has also demanded that the U.S. not violate the sovereignty of Afghani airspace, in what seems like an unrelated press conference.
Pro- Afghan National Resistance Front social media pages have claimed that Interim Afghan Minister of Refugees Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani, has been killed in a drone strike in Police District 12 of Kabul, Afghanistan.
However, Taliban police spokesperson Zadran, claimed that the explosions were caused by explosives that were planted under a power transmission tower in Arzan Qimat, a neighborhood in PD12. Local residents claimed that around 1258 EST, explosions were caused by overhead drones.
These two conflicting reports have not been corroborated. However, it is worth noting that the Taliban struggled to cover up the killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul a few weeks ago, and still maintain they have not located his body after President Biden announced the successful strike.
If reports of Haqqani’s death are true, he would be the first Taliban government leader killed since the group took power last August. The reports of drones being used add fuel to speculation that the U.S. may have been involved, which would be a sharp escalation in tactics against the coalition’s former enemies since the August ’21 withdrawal.
Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani (born 1 January 1966), also known as Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani, Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani, Khaleel Haqqani and Khalil Ahmad Haqqani, is the current Afghan Minister of Refugees and a prominent leader of the Haqqani network. The Haqqani network was founded by Khalil Haqqani’s brother Jalaluddin Haqqani. He has been designated as a terrorist by both the U.S. and U.N. and has been wanted for the entirety of the U.S. occupation. He only recently resurfaced in Kabul since being appointed the Minister of Refugees.
