Afghan intelligence: Key militant dead
Taliban reject claim as ‘propaganda’
KABUL, Afghanistan – The son of the founder of the powerful Haqqani network was been killed in an airstrike in Pakistan, Afghanistan’s intelligence agency said Sunday, providing the first public confirmation of rumors that have been swirling for days about the key member of a militant group the U.S. considers one of the most dangerous in the region.
The Taliban rejected reports of Badruddin Haqqani’s death, however, saying he was alive and well in Afghanistan.
Haqqani’s death would be a serious blow to the organization founded by his father, Jalaluddin Haqqani. The group, which has ties to both the Taliban and al-Qaida, has been blamed for a series of high-profile attacks and kidnappings in Afghanistan, particularly in and around the capital city of Kabul, and poses perhaps the biggest threat to stability in the country.
Shafiqullah Tahiri, the spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security intelligence agency, said Haqqani was killed last week in an airstrike in Pakistan. He did not provide any further details and would not say what information the agency’s operatives were basing their conclusion on.
U.S. officials have declined to comment.
But Tahiri’s account is similar to one provided Saturday by a senior Taliban leader who said Haqqani was killed in a drone strike. It also hews closely to a version provided by Pakistani officials who said Saturday that they were 90 percent sure the militant commander was killed in a missile attack Tuesday in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region.
The Taliban, who are closely allied with the Haqqani network, rejected all reports of Haqqani’s death.
“A number of media have reported that Badruddin Haqqani has been killed. We would like to inform all media that this rumor is not correct,” Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said in an email to reporters late Saturday. “Badruddin Haqqani is in the country and is occupied with his operational responsibilities. He is alive and healthy. The rumor about him being killed is more propaganda of the enemy.”