Afghan Taliban: Haqqani founder dead

K ABUL: The founder of the Haqqani network, one of Afghanistan’s most effective and brutal militant groups, has died after a long illness, their affiliates the Afghan Taliban announced yesterday.

Jalaluddin Haqqani, a one-time Central Intelligence Agency asset, whose group became a top United States target, spent decades working with al-Qaeda and the Taliban to entrench jihad in the conflict-racked region.

Despite his fearsome reputation, his death is not expected to have an impact on the extremist group’s operations.

Jalaluddin, thought to be in his 70s or 80s, had been bedridden for years and had already passed the leadership to his son, Sirajuddin, who is also the Taliban’s deputy leader.

Jalaluddin “was from among the great distinguished jihadi personalities of this era”, the Taliban said on Twitter.

He “was ill and bedridden for the past several years”, the Taliban said. It did not specify where or when he died. Reports have placed him in Pakistan.

During the 1980s, Jalaluddin Haqqani was an Afghan mujahideen commander fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He gained fame for his organisation and bravery, garnering attention from the CIA and a personal visit from US congressman Charlie Wilson, who helped secure arms for the mujahideen.

A fluent Arabic speaker, Jalaluddin also fostered close ties with Arab jihadists, including Osama bin Laden, who flocked to the region during the war. Later, he became a minister in the Taliban regime which took power in Afghanistan in 1996.

There had been rumours of his death in 2008 and 2015, though this was the first time the Taliban have issued a statement on it.

The Haqqani network has been blamed for spectacular attacks targeting civilians, Afghan and US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces across Afghanistan since the Taliban were toppled from power in 2001.

Designated a terrorist group by the US, the Haqqanis are known for their heavy use of suicide bombers, indiscriminately killing civilians and security forces.

Some analysts believe it works with IS, which at the same time is involved in a bloody turf war with the Taliban, to avoid blame and political blowback.