Thousands attend the funeral of a Taliban minister killed by an Islamic State suicide bomber

GARDA SERAI, Afghanistan (AP) — Thousands of people attended the funeral on Thursday of a Taliban minister killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, the day before that was claimed by the Islamic State group.

The funeral for Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, was held in the eastern Paktia province. The Cabinet member was the most high-profile casualty of an assault in the country since the Taliban seized power three years ago.

The minister, who died in a blast Wednesday at his ministry in Kabul along with five others, was the uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the acting interior minister and the leader of a powerful faction within the Taliban. The United States has placed a bounty on both their heads.

Tight security was in place for the high-ranking officials attending the funeral, including Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Deputy Prime Minister Maulvi Abdul Kabir.

Armed men guarded the coffin, which was draped in the Taliban flag, and loudspeakers broadcast sermons and eulogies. Local and international media were invited to cover the funeral in Garda Serai district in Paktia.

Sirajuddin Haqqani led the mourners in prayer. They gathered on a vast plain against a backdrop of rugged mountains. Haqqani told the crowd he wished the person who perpetrated this “weak action” had thought of his uncle as an enemy of non-Muslims.

“The Americans offered a $5 million reward (for information) on him," said the acting interior minister. "He was not an enemy of Muslims. How can you call this a great victory, that you martyred a Muslim and are proud of it?”

In a statement carried by the Amaq News Agency, the Islamic State Khorasan Province — a regional affiliate of the Islamic State group — said that one of its fighters carried out the suicide bombing. The fighter waited for Haqqani to leave his office and then detonated his device, according to the statement.

An official from Paktia, the Haqqanis' heartland, gave a different account of what happened. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The assailant was able to gain access to the ministry despite setting off an alarm on the body scanner because he told the guard he had metal plates in his hands, the official said. He also claimed he was a refugee.

The official added that Haqqani made time for refugees and people with disabilities who come to see him at work because he was sympathetic to their plight.

He was approaching the ministry after praying in the compound's mosque when the assailant detonated the bomb, the official added.

The U.N. mission in Afghanistan was among those to condemn the ministry attack. “There can be no place for terrorism in the quest for stability,” the mission said on X.

Neighboring Pakistan has also expressed shock over teh attack. Mohammad Sadiq, the special representative for Afghanistan, wrote on X on Wednesday that the government stood in solidarity with Afghanistan and reiterated its commitment to work with Afghanistan in fighting the “menace of terrorism.”

The IS affiliate, a major rival of the ruling Taliban, has previously carried out bombings across Afghanistan. But suicide attacks have become rare since the Taliban seized power in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces were withdrawing after 20 years of war.

Such assaults have mostly targeted minority Shiite Muslims, especially in the capital.

Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

People attend the funeral prayer of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

People attend the funeral prayer of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Taliban fighters stand guard during the funeral prayers of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, speaks during the funeral prayers of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

People attend the funeral prayer of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

People attend the funeral prayer of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

People attend the funeral prayer of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.(AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Taliban fighters stand guard during the funeral prayers of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.(AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

People attend the funeral prayer of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

People attend the funeral prayer of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Taliban fighters stand guard during the funeral prayers of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Taliban fighters stand guard during the funeral prayers of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, center, and mourners offer funeral prayers of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

People attend the funeral prayer of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, center, and mourners offer funeral prayers near the dead body of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.(AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

Acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, center, and mourners offer funeral prayers near the dead body of Khalil Haqqani, the minister for refugees and repatriation, during his funeral procession in eastern Paktia province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024.(AP Photo/Saifullah Zahir)

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray told bureau workers Wednesday that he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden's term in January, an announcement that came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the job.

Wray said at a town hall meeting that he would be stepping down “after weeks of careful thought,” roughly three years short of the completion of a 10-year term during which he tried to keep the FBI out of politics even as the bureau found itself entangled in a string of explosive investigations, including two that led to separate indictments of Trump last year as well as inquiries into Biden and his son.

“My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” Wray told agency employees. “In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.”

The intended resignation was not unexpected considering that Trump had settled on Patel to be director and had repeatedly aired his ire at Wray, whom he appointed during his first term. But his departure is nonetheless a reflection of how Trump's norm-breaking style has reshaped Washington, with the president-elect yet again flouting tradition by moving to replace an FBI director well before his term was up and Wray resigning to avert a collision with the incoming administration.

“It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway — this is not easy for me," Wray said. “I love this place, I love our mission, and I love our people — but my focus is, and always has been, on us and doing what’s right for the FBI.”

Wray received a standing ovation following his remarks before a standing-room-only crowd at FBI headquarters and some in the audience cried, according to an FBI official who was not authorized to discuss the private gathering by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

Trump applauded the news on social media, calling it “a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice" and saying that Patel's confirmation will begin “the process of Making the FBI Great Again.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Patel would herald a radical leadership transformation at the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency. He has advocated shutting down the FBI's Washington headquarters and called for ridding the federal government of “conspirators," raising alarms that he might seek to wield the FBI's significant investigative powers as an instrument of retribution against Trump's perceived enemies.

Patel said Wednesday that he was looking forward to "a smooth transition. I will be ready to serve the American people on day one.”

It's extremely rare for FBI directors to be ousted from their jobs before the completion of their 10-year terms, a length meant to insulate the agency from the political influence of changing administrations. But Trump has done it twice, placing Wray in the job in 2017 after firing Director James Comey amid an investigation into ties between Russia and the Republican president’s campaign.

Despite having appointed Wray, Trump had telegraphed his anger with the FBI director on multiple occasions throughout the years, including as recently as the past week.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, Trump said, “I can’t say I’m thrilled with him. He invaded my home,” a reference to the FBI's 2022 search of Trump's Florida property, Mar-a-Lago, for classified documents from Trump’s first term as president.

That search, and the recovery of boxes of sensitive government records, paved the way for one of two federal indictments against Trump. The case, and another one charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 election, have both been dismissed by the Justice Department special counsel that brought them in light of Trump's November victory.

Attorney General Merrick Garland praised Wray for having “served our country honorably and with integrity for decades.” He said: “Under Director Wray’s principled leadership, the FBI has worked to fulfill the Justice Department’s mission to keep our country safe, protect civil rights, and uphold the rule of law.”

Natalie Bara, the president of the FBI Agents Association, said in a statement that Wray had led the FBI “through challenging times with a steady focus on doing the work that keeps our country safe. ”

Throughout his seven years on the job, the self-professed "low-key, understated" Wray brought a workmanlike approach to the job, repeatedly preaching a “keep calm and tackle hard” mantra despite a steady drumbeat of attacks from Trump and his supporters.

He also sought to avoid public conflict when possible with the Trump White House, distancing himself and his leadership team from the FBI's Russia investigation over errors that took place before he took office and announcing dozens of corrective actions meant to prevent the recurrence of the surveillance abuses that plagued the inquiry.

But there were other instances when he memorably broke from Trump — he did not agree, for instance, with Trump’s characterization of the Russia investigation as a “witch hunt." He made known his displeasure when the White House blessed the declassification of materials related to the surveillance of a former Trump campaign aide and contradicted a Trump talking point by stating that Ukraine had not interfered in the 2016 election.

He repeatedly sought to keep the focus on the FBI's day-to-day work, using the bulk of his resignation announcement to praise the bureau's efforts in countering everything from violent crime and cyberattacks to Chinese espionage and terrorism.

“The most sacred responsibility of government is — and will remain — protecting its citizens,” Wray said. “You all are on the front lines of that effort every day, and I know you will continue to adapt and evolve and innovate to stay ahead."

Yet even as he leaves office at a time of heightened threats, much of the public focus has been on the politically sensitive investigations of his tenure.

Besides the inquiries into Trump, the FBI in recent years also investigated Biden's handling of classified information as well as Biden's son Hunter for tax and gun violations. Hunter Biden was pardoned by his father last week.

A particular flashpoint came in August 2022, when FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago — an action officials defended as necessary given the boxes of documents that were being concealed at the Palm Beach property and the evidence of obstruction that the Justice Department said had been gathered.

Trump railed against the FBI over that search and has kept up his criticism ever since. The president-elect, for instance, was angered by Wray's comment at a congressional hearing that there was “some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel” that struck Trump's ear during an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July. The FBI later stated unequivocally that it was indeed a bullet.

Before being named FBI director, Wray worked at a prestigious law firm, King & Spalding, where he represented former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during the “Bridgegate” scandal. He also led the Justice Department’s criminal division for a period during President George W. Bush’s administration.

This story has been corrected to reflect that a reference to the FBI’s search of Donald Trump’s Florida property as taking place in 2002 should have said the search was in 2022.

Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be the director of the FBI, attends a meeting in the office of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on Capitol Hill, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Kash Patel, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be the director of the FBI, attends a meeting in the office of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on Capitol Hill, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

FILE - FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

FILE - FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing Oct. 31, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

FILE - FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - FBI Director Christopher Wray speaks during a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill, March 11, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)