A prominent Taliban cleric, Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani, has been killed in an attack in a seminary in Kabul when the attacker detonated explosives hidden in a plastic artificial leg.

"Very sadly informed that respected cleric (Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani) was martyred in a cowardly attack by enemies," Bilal Karimi, a spokesperson for the Taliban administration, said on Thursday.

Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.

Four Taliban sources said the attacker was someone who had previously lost his leg and had hidden the explosives in his new plastic artificial leg.

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 Daesh that killed at least seven people.

'A very huge loss'

"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," said one senior Taliban official of the interior ministry.

"It's a very huge loss for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," they added, referring to the group's name for its administration.

The Taliban say they have restored security since they took over as foreign forces withdrew almost a year ago.

However, regular attacks, many of them claimed by Daesh, have taken place in recent months, often targeting religious and ethnic minorities as well as Taliban leaders.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies