Afghanistan’s spy agency said on Sunday that the operational commander of the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network responsible for spectacular attacks on Kabul had been killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan.
“We confirm that Badruddin Haqqani, who was the mastermind of almost all sophisticated attacks in Kabul, was killed in a drone strike,” National Directorate of Security spokesman Lutfullah Mashal told AFP.
“Our information is based on interception of the conversation of the guys (Haqqani members) on the ground who confirmed he was dead,” Mashal said.
The death of Badruddin, the son of Haqqani network founder Jalaluddin Haqqani, has been rumoured for days but has been denied by the Taliban, to which the network is allied.
“This is propaganda of the enemy. Badruddin is alive and he will soon talk to the media,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.
“He is inside Afghanistan and busy with operations,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2012.
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