Officials identified the cleric as Rahimullah Haqqani, a name that signifies he graduated from Darul Uloom Haqqania in Pakistan, an Islamic university long associated with the Taliban.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that Bilal Karimi, a deputy Taliban spokesman, acknowledged Haqqani’s death, calling him a “great personality and academic figure.” Karimi said that Haqqani had been killed by “a brutal attack of the enemy,” without elaborating.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing. However, the local affiliate of the Islamic State group has been targeting the Taliban and civilians in attacks since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan last August as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their withdrawal from the country.