Kabul, Dec 12 (IANS): The extremist militant group Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed Afghanistan's acting minister for refugees and repatriation on Wednesday.

IS militant detonated his explosive vest, resulting in the deaths of Khalil Rahman Haqqani and several of his colleagues and bodyguards, a report issued by IS-affiliated news agency 'Amaq' stated.

Four people, including Haqqani, were killed and four others, including Haqqani's guards, were critically injured following the attack, an official at the Afghan Ministry of Interior told Xinhua news agency.

Haqqani is the first cabinet member killed since the Afghan caretaker government took over power in 2021.

"We have received with great sadness the news that the minister of refugees, Khalil Rahman Haqqani, was martyred this afternoon in a ferocious attack by the Khawarij (enemy)," said a statement released by Mufti Abdul Mateen Qani, a spokesman for the country's Ministry of Interior.

"Haqqani was a member of a great jihadi family. The enemies of Islam had set a 5-million-US dollar bounty for his elimination," the statement added.

Security personnel had sealed off all roads to the ministry, and stringent regulations are currently enforced within the vicinity.

Born in Paktia Province in 1966, Khalilur Rahman Haqqani and his brother Jalaluddin Haqqani were senior members of the Islamic forces that played a key role in the war against the former Soviet Union and coalition forces over the past four decades.

"His activities in Afghanistan's history, his role in Afghanistan's jihad, his honourable efforts in the repatriation of Afghan refugees, his strengthening of the Islamic system, and his family upbringing all contribute to making personalities like him rare in Afghanistan," Rohullah Hotak, a political analyst, told Afghanistan's TOLOnews.

According to local media, the last official assignment that Khalil Rahman Haqqani attended was the Economic Commission meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office.