The U.S. has long viewed the Haqqani network as one of the biggest threats to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan as well as the country’s long term stability. Photo / AP
The son of the founder of the powerful Haqqani network was been killed in an airstrike in Pakistan, Afghanistan's intelligence agency said today, 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 that 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 comment on the reports.
But Tahiri's account is similar to one provided Saturday (local time) 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.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said Haqqani is alive and in good health in Afghanistan.
"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," Mujahid said in the 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."
In a telephone call with The Associated Press on Sunday Mujahid again maintained that Haqqani was alive.
The territory where the American drone strikes generally occur are in Pakistan's remote and dangerous tribal regions, making it difficult for reporters or others to verify a particular person's death. And the U.S. does not comment publicly on its drone program, which is widely reviled by the Pakistani public and has been a source of tension with Islamabad.
The al-Qaida-allied Haqqani tribe runs a mafia-like smuggling operation and occasionally turns to terrorism with the aim of controlling its territory in eastern Afghanistan. The Haqqanis use Pakistani towns to plan, train and arm themselves with guns and explosives, cross into Afghanistan to attack NATO and Afghan forces, then retreat back across the border to safety.
Badruddin is considered a vital part of the Haqqani structure and is believed to have played an active role in kidnappings, extortion and high-profile operations in Afghanistan. Tahiri said that Haqqani's responsibilities included arranging foreign suicide bombers, maintaining relations with other insurgent groups, recruiting Pakistani Taliban fighters for the Haqqani group and overseeing operations in southeastern Afghanistan and in Kabul.
"He was the mastermind of the organized suicide attacks in Kabul," Tahiri said, referring to a number of high-profile strikes in the Afghan capital targeting everything from hotels to Western embassies. Every time there has been a highly complex attack in Kabul involving coordination between multiple insurgents, American officials have pointed the finger at the Haqqanis.
In the latest such attack in June, gunmen stormed a lakeside hotel outside of Kabul and opened fire on Afghans having dinner, killing 18 people. The commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan quickly attributed the attack to the Haqqani network, which has long operated as a sort of arm of the Taliban in the eastern part of the country.
Still, there are likely people waiting in the wings to replace Badruddin, said former Afghan intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh, now an opposition leader.
"They are going to find another person to replace him. What I know is that his elder brother, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is playing a larger role in the Haqqani network," Saleh said in an interview on Afghanistan's Tolo television. He said until the group's ability to operate across Afghanistan and Pakistan is limited, "killing their commanders or leaders will have its effect, but not that large of an effect."
The U.S. State Department has designated Badruddin, along with his father and brothers - Nasiruddin and Sirajuddin - as terrorists. The State Department said in May 2011 that Badruddin sits on the Miram Shah Shura, a group that controls all Haqqani network activities and coordinates attacks in southeastern Afghanistan.
Badruddin is also believed to have been responsible for the 2008 kidnapping of New York Times reporter David Rohde, the department said.
After their father effectively retired in 2005, Badruddin and his brother Sirajuddin expanded the network into kidnapping and extortion, both highly profitable for the organization, according to a recent report by the West Point, N.Y.-based Combating Terrorism Center. Afghan intelligence authorities have released intercepts of Badruddin orchestrating an attack against the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul in 2011, the CTC said.
The U.S. has long viewed the Haqqani network as one of the biggest threats to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan as well as the country's long term stability. The group has shown little interest in negotiating with the Washington, and has pulled off some of the highest-profile and most complex attacks in Afghanistan, although not necessarily the most deadly.
The Taleban wants NZ troops out of Afghanistan. Photo / AP
The Taleban says Kiwi troops are easier targets than other Coalition forces because of their inferior weaponry.
After the New Zealand armed force's bloodiest month since November 1951, the Taleban's Zabiullah Mujahid promised more bloodshed for Kiwi troops.
"We will find them and kill them, there's no safety for them," the Afghan militia's spokesman said.
The Taleban had extensive knowledge of New Zealand weaponry and movements, he said in an authenticated telephone interview with a Herald on Sunday correspondent in Kabul.
"We know ... which kinds of weapons and ammunition they have. We know that the New Zealanders do not have strong weapons like the Americans or British, but if they had it wouldn't matter for us."
The grandfather of slain Christchurch soldier Lance Corporal Pralli Durrer said he was not worried about Kiwi soldiers having inferior weapons.
Jack Durrer said: "They have weapons to fight. They do not fire first, but they can fire. And if they get into trouble they can call for the Americans to help.
And they would come to help as quickly as possible."
The Prime Minister has said Kiwi troops will be pulled out of the war-ravaged country earlier, after five deaths in two weeks.
But Durrer said Kiwi troops should stay the course in Afghanistan.
"The Kiwi soldiers are helping Afghan people, they are not fighting," he said. "Pralli did not die looking for a fight. I think we try to give them freedom."
Mujahid is thought to be a pseudonym used by several different spokesmen, who operate close to the Pakistan border. He said forces were well aware they were targeting Kiwi forces. "Yes we knew our target was New Zealand forces, because they are with our enemy and the others who came to our country with guns and weapons.
"We are killing the New Zealanders because they are helping the Americans. They have come to kill and arrest our people.
"For this we have a duty to attack them, but we do not have any other enmity towards the people of New Zealand."
The Taleban said that the families of deceased families should pressure the Government to pull out of Afghanistan.
"The families of those killed should tell the Government of New Zealand not to send soldiers to kill Afghans, because this fight does not belong to New Zealand. This is an American fight and they have persuaded other countries to become involved.
"The families of those killed should tell their Government to stop fighting, otherwise we will send more bodies of soldiers back to New Zealand."
The Herald on Sunday contacted a Taleban spokesman through Daily Telegraph Afghanistan correspondent Ben Farmer, who has been reporting from Kabul since 2008.
A filmmaker has apologised after receiving death threats for posting inflammatory comments online about a dead woman soldier.
Academy Award-shortlisted documentary producer Barbara Sumner Burstyn said: "I was wrong. I am truly sorry for the pain I have caused with my comments."
Earlier, writing on Facebook, Sumner Burstyn accused Lance Corporal Jacinda Baker of "killing innocent people".
"Oh, so fallen soldier Jacinda Baker liked boxing and baking - did they forget she also liked invading countries we are not at war with, killing innocent people and had no moral compass," Sumner Burstyn wrote.
"She 100 per cent does not deserve our respect for her flawed choices. We are not at war. We are helping America invade another country for their oil. No more than that.
"Go to war, expect to be killed. You can't have it both ways - oh nice little career with the military and shock horror when you get blown up."
Her words attracted a vitriolic response from some comrades of Baker, who died this week in Afghanistan with two fellow soldiers.
The post went viral around the internet and last night more than 20,000 people had joined a Facebook group called "Sumner Burstyn give back your NZ Passport!"
Thousands reacted angrily to Burstyn's comments, calling them disrespectful and ill-informed about New Zealand's role in Afghanistan.
Other comments incited violence against Burstyn. The soldier who created the page, Ted Grainger, was prompted to calm the fury last night after threats were repeatedly left on the page by people including Defence Force personnel.
"Right people. No one on this site will advocate rape or murder. Context people. I will delete posts that are out of context and are what I believe is wrong. Rape is wrong ... don't post it."
Sumner Burstyn told the Herald on Sunday she was currently in Canada and did not know when it would be safe to return to New Zealand.
She feared for her safety and that of her family in New Zealand, who had to flee their home after her address and contact details were published.
She said the New Zealand police and Interpol were investigating the threats.
"The level of threat is very scary. They are threatening my life and that of my family while in uniform. Our peacekeepers who threaten rape and murder to someone who posts an anti-war message," she said.
"And to post my details and that of my family and threaten us all in such vile ways I think it is shameful and disgusting behaviour," she said.
Sumner Burstyn has shut down her Facebook page and changed her email address.
In an interview with the Herald on Sunday, she initially defended her comments as mild.
But late last night, she emailed an apology. "I was wrong. I am truly sorry for the pain I have caused with my comments," she wrote.
"I am especially sorry to the family, friends and loved ones of Jacinda Baker at this very difficult time. Please accept my most heartfelt apologies.
"People have said she was a special person. I am sure that is true. If so then she would not agree with the rape and torture, mutilation and murder threatened in these posts.
"Many posted as New Zealand military personnel. They have pledged to uphold very noble standards. These are not reflected in the brutality and viciousness of these posts."
A Defence Force spokeswoman said: "People are entitled to their own individual opinions and we leave it up to the public to judge whether it is insensitive to choose this time to criticise our fallen Defence Force personnel. Our people are grieving, as are the families of the three killed. They are yet to bury their loved ones."
An administrator of the Facebook group Kane Te Tai tried to explain to Burstyn the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team's role in Afghanistan.
"We may operate under the banner of Operation Enduring Freedom but we have our own mission," he said. "My time spent in Afghanistan with the Provincial Reconstruction team did not involve me carrying out direct action missions against the Taleban or the Afghan people. How many civilians have we killed in our history? A big fat zero. We do not fight this war unless they fight us first."
Islamabad: Pakistani intelligence officials confirmed on Thursday that a US drone strike last week near the Afghan border killed the son of the founder of the powerful Haqqani militant network, a major blow to one of the most feared groups fighting American troops in Afghanistan.
Badruddin Haqqani, who has been described as the organization’s day-to-day operations commander, was killed on 24 August in one of three strikes that hit militant hideouts in the Shawal Valley in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal area, said two senior intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The presence of the mostly Afghan Haqqani network in North Waziristan has been a major source of friction between Pakistan and the US. The Obama administration has repeatedly demanded Pakistan prevent the group from using its territory to launch attacks in Afghanistan, but Islamabad has refused —a stance many analysts believe is driven by the country’s strong historical ties to the Haqqani network’s founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani.
AP
The Pakistani intelligence officials didn’t specify which strike on Aug. 24 killed Badruddin, but said he was leaving a hideout when the US missiles hit. The confirmation of his death came from their sources within the Taliban, which is allied with the Haqqani network, and agents on the ground, they said. But neither the officials nor their sources have actually seen Badruddin’s body.
Pakistani intelligence officials previously said they were 90 percent sure Badruddin was killed in a drone strike in a different part of North Waziristan on Aug. 21. It’s unclear what caused the discrepancy.
Afghanistan’s intelligence agency said several days ago that its operatives had confirmed Badruddin’s death, but did not provide any details. A senior Taliban commander has also confirmed the militant’s death.
A Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan, Zabiullah Mujahid, has however rejected reports of Badruddin’s death, calling them “propaganda of the enemy.”
The US does not often comment publicly on the covert CIA drone programme in Pakistan and has not said whether Badruddin was killed.
The areas where the American drone strikes generally occur are extremely remote and dangerous, making it difficult for reporters or others to verify a particular person’s death.
Badruddin is considered a vital part of the Haqqani structure. He is believed to be the network’s day-to-day operations commander, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War.
The US State Department has designated Badruddin, along with his father and brothers— Nasiruddin and Sirajuddin— as terrorists. The State Department said in May 2011 that Badruddin sits on the Miram Shah Shura, a group that controls all Haqqani network activities and coordinates attacks in southeastern Afghanistan.
Badruddin is also believed to have been responsible for the 2008 kidnapping of New York Times reporter David Rohde, the department said.
After their father effectively retired in 2005, Badruddin and his brother Sirajuddin expanded the network into kidnapping and extortion, both highly profitable for the organization, according to a recent report by the West Point, NY-based Combating Terrorism Center. Afghan intelligence authorities have released intercepts of Badruddin orchestrating an attack against the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul in 2011, the CTC said.
The US has long viewed the Haqqani network as one of the biggest threats to US and NATO forces in Afghanistan as well as the country’s long term stability. The group has shown little interest in negotiating with the Washington, and has pulled off some of the highest-profile and most complex attacks in Afghanistan, although not necessarily the most deadly.
The Pakistani military has refused to target the Haqqani network, saying its troops are stretched too thin fighting militants at war with the state in other parts of the tribal region. But many analysts believe the military views the group as an important potential ally in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw. Pakistan worked closely with Badruddin’s father, Jalaluddin, during the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
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