Salafi Cleric Murdered in Kabul

Sardar Wali Saqib, one of the Salafist clerics and an instructor at the Narinj Bagh seminary in Jalalabad city, was killed in Kabul on Wednesday. The Taliban's Ministry of Interior confirmed the murder and said that Saqib was killed by unidentified men in district 5 of Kabul.

So far, no person or group has taken responsibility for the murder of Saqib. However, Salafist clerics, who are said to have similar religious views as that of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), have been mysteriously killed in the eastern provinces, especially Nangarhar.

Earlier, the Taliban had been blamed for being involved in the killing of Salafi clerics. However, Saqib had pledged allegiance to the Taliban leadership. Taliban officials in Nangarhar say that Saqib was killed by circles that want to create rifts between the Taliban and Salafi clerics.

Sardar Wali Saqib had gained fame as a religious scholar in the eastern provinces of Afghanistan.