Afghan operation: ‘Haqqani commander captured’
Haji Mali Khan was caught along with his deputy and bodyguard: Nato.
KABUL:
Nato-led forces said on Saturday that they had captured the senior commander for the Haqqani network in Afghanistan, Haji Mali Khan, during an operation in Eastern Paktia province earlier in the week.
Khan is “the uncle of Siraj and Badruddin Haqqani ... one of the highest ranking members of the Haqqani network and a revered elder of the Haqqani clan,” the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said in a statement.
Nato said Khan had managed bases and operations in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and moved forces across the border for attacks, as well as transferring funds and sourcing supplies.
The statement called him “the senior Haqqani commander in Afghanistan”.
Khan was captured on Tuesday in Jani Khel district of Paktia province along with his deputy and bodyguard, in an operation by Afghan and foreign forces, Nato said. He was heavily armed but “submitted ... without incident or resistance”, the force said. It did not detail how they had identified Khan. The Taliban, to whom the Haqqani network has pledged allegiance, denied that Khan had been captured.
“I have just spoken with Haji Mali Khan, he is fine and is somewhere else and hasn’t been detained,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters. “This is news is baseless and it has been released in order to weaken the morale of the Mujahideens,” he said.
Nato said this year they had arrested 1,300 suspected Haqqani insurgents and 300 insurgent leaders in 500 operations that aimed to disrupt the network. Around 20 “network facilitators” were killed, the statement added.
Khan had also established a militant camp in Paktia province in the past year, and reported directly to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the son of founding commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, Nato said.
Siraj is now believed to be in charge of day-to-day affairs of the Haqqani network because his father has health problems. Before fighting in Afghanistan, Nato said Khan had served as a Haqqani network envoy to Baitullah Mehsud, former leader of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistani (TTP).
Published in The Express Tribune, October 2nd, 2011.
Nato-led forces said on Saturday that they had captured the senior commander for the Haqqani network in Afghanistan, Haji Mali Khan, during an operation in Eastern Paktia province earlier in the week.
Khan is “the uncle of Siraj and Badruddin Haqqani ... one of the highest ranking members of the Haqqani network and a revered elder of the Haqqani clan,” the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said in a statement.
Nato said Khan had managed bases and operations in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and moved forces across the border for attacks, as well as transferring funds and sourcing supplies.
The statement called him “the senior Haqqani commander in Afghanistan”.
Khan was captured on Tuesday in Jani Khel district of Paktia province along with his deputy and bodyguard, in an operation by Afghan and foreign forces, Nato said. He was heavily armed but “submitted ... without incident or resistance”, the force said. It did not detail how they had identified Khan. The Taliban, to whom the Haqqani network has pledged allegiance, denied that Khan had been captured.
“I have just spoken with Haji Mali Khan, he is fine and is somewhere else and hasn’t been detained,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters. “This is news is baseless and it has been released in order to weaken the morale of the Mujahideens,” he said.
Nato said this year they had arrested 1,300 suspected Haqqani insurgents and 300 insurgent leaders in 500 operations that aimed to disrupt the network. Around 20 “network facilitators” were killed, the statement added.
Khan had also established a militant camp in Paktia province in the past year, and reported directly to Sirajuddin Haqqani, the son of founding commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, Nato said.
Siraj is now believed to be in charge of day-to-day affairs of the Haqqani network because his father has health problems. Before fighting in Afghanistan, Nato said Khan had served as a Haqqani network envoy to Baitullah Mehsud, former leader of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistani (TTP).
Published in The Express Tribune, October 2nd, 2011.