The explosion struck inside the ministry, killing Khalil Haqqani, officials said. His last official photo showed him at a meeting chaired by the deputy prime minister earlier Wednesday.

Khalil Haqqani, Taliban acting minister of refugees, was killed in a blast Wednesday at the ministry's headquarters in Kabul.

The government accused the Islamic State of being behind the attack, which struck at the heart of the Taliban’s power structure after years of essentially unchallenged dominance.