The Long War Journal

 

Special operations forces capture Haqqani Network's top commander in Afghanistan

Posted: 01 Oct 2011 12:54 PM PDT

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Click to view slide show of the Haqqani Network. Pictured is a composite image of Siraj Haqqani.

 

Coalition and Afghan special operations forces today announced the capture of the Haqqani Network's commander for Afghanistan during a raid in Paktia province on Sept. 27.

 

Haji Mali Khan, who is described by the International Security Assistance Force as "one of the highest ranking members of the Haqqani Network and a revered elder of the Haqqani clan," was captured during a raid in the Jani Khel district of Paktia. Security forces also captured his deputy, his bodyguard, and "multiple additional insurgents." Khan was "heavily armed" but he "submitted to the security force without incident or resistance," ISAF stated.

 

Khan "worked directly under Siraj Haqqani," the operational commander of the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network. Khan is Siraj's maternal uncle. Siraj's father, Jalaluddin Haqqani, the patriarch of the family, "consistently placed Mali Khan in positions of high importance," ISAF said.

 

One of Khan's duties included acting as an "an emissary between the late Baitullah Mehsud and senior leaders within the Haqqani leadership." Baitullah led the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan before he was killed in a US Predator airstrike in August 2009.

 

As the top commander in Afghanistan, Khan "managed bases and had oversight of operations in both Afghanistan and Pakistan," ISAF stated. In the past year, Khan established bases for Haqqani Network fighters in the Mangal tribal areas of Paktia. He also facilitated the movement of forces from Pakistan to Afghanistan, financed terrorist operations, and served as a logistics coordinator for forces in the field.

 

Khan was captured three months after Ismail Jan, one of his deputies, was killed in an airstrike in Gardez district in Paktia. Jan was directly linked to the June 28 suicide assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul that killed 12 people. He commanded fighters in the Khost-Gardez Pass, a strategic area that links the provinces of Khost and Paktia. According to the ISAF statement announcing his death, Jan "moved into Afghanistan from Pakistan in late 2010."

 

The Taliban denied reports that Khan was captured, and claimed it was a propaganda stunt by ISAF designed to "weaken" the group.

 

"I have just spoken with Haji Mali Khan, he is fine and is somewhere else and hasn't been detained," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters. "This is a baseless news and it has been released in order to weaken Mujahideen's morale."

 

ISAF said that Khan's capture is "a significant milestone in the disruption of the Haqqani Network." As the top commander of Haqqani forces in Afghanistan, he has the potential to provide a wealth of information on the terror group's operations in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as the location of the group's top leaders.

 

ISAF also said that the Haqqani Network "and its safe havens remain a top priority for Afghan and coalition forces." Coalition and Afghan troops have killed 20 Haqqani Network facilitators and and captured "nearly 300 insurgent leaders and 1,300 suspected Haqqani insurgents."

 

Background on the Haqqani Network


The Haqqani Network operates primarily in the Afghan provinces of Khost, Paktia, and Paktika, and also has an extensive presence in Kabul, Logar, Wardak, Ghazni, Zabul, Kandahar, and Kunduz.

 

The terror group has close links with al Qaeda and the Taliban, and its relationship with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) has allowed the network to survive and thrive in its fortress stronghold of North Waziristan, a tribal agency in Pakistan. The Haqqani Network has also extended its presence into the tribal agency of Kurram.

 

In North Waziristan, the Haqqanis control large swaths of the tribal area and run a parallel administration with courts, recruiting centers, tax offices, and security forces. In addition, the Haqqanis have established multiple training camps and safe houses used by al Qaeda leaders and operatives, as well as by Taliban foot soldiers preparing to fight in Afghanistan.

 

The Haqqani Network has been implicated in some of the biggest terror attacks in the Afghan capital city of Kabul, including the January 2008 suicide assault on the Serena hotel, the February 2009 assault on Afghan ministries, and the July 2008 and October 2009 suicide attacks against the Indian embassy.

 

The terror group collaborated with elements of Pakistan's military and intelligence service in at least one of these attacks. In the past, American intelligence agencies confronted the Pakistani government with evidence, including communications intercepts, which proved the ISI's direct involvement in the 2008 Indian embassy bombing. [See LWJ report Pakistan's Jihad and Threat Matrix report Pakistan backs Afghan Taliban for additional information on the ISI's complicity in attacks in Afghanistan and the region.]

 

Most recently, the US and the Afghan government have linked the Haqqani Network and Pakistan's intelligence service to the June 2010 assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul in June 2011 and the attack on the US Embassy and ISAF headquarters in September. Last week, Admiral Michael Mullen, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accused the Haqqani Network of being one of several "[e]xtremist organizations serving as proxies of the government of Pakistan."

 

Over the past few years, six of the Haqqani Network's top leaders have been added to the US' list of specially designated global terrorists. Siraj Haqqani, who also is a member of al Qaeda's executive council, was added in March 2008. Nasiruddin Haqqani, a key financier and "emissary" for the Haqqani Network, was placed on the US' terrorist list in July 2010. Khalil al Rahman Haqqani, a key fundraiser, financier, and operational commander for the Haqqani Network who also aids al Qaeda, was added to the US' list of terrorists in February 2011. Badruddin Haqqani, an operational commander who also aids al Qaeda, was designated as a terrorist on May 11, 2011. Mullah Sangeen Zadran, a top military commander in eastern Afghanistan, was added to the list in August 2011. And on September 29, the US added Abdul Aziz Abbasin, a key commander in the Haqqani Network who is currently the Taliban's shadow governor for Orgun district in Paktika province. All six commanders have close ties to al Qaeda.

 

Jalaluddin Haqqani, the father of Siraj, Nasiruddin, and Badruddin, and the brother of Khalil and Khan, has not been added to the US' list of terrorists, despite his close links to both the Taliban and al Qaeda. In an interview with Al Somood, the Taliban's official magazine, Jalaluddin admitted that he served on the Taliban's executive council, which is known as the Quetta Shura.

 

 

AQAP bomb maker Asiri thought killed in Yemen Predator strike

Posted: 01 Oct 2011 06:11 AM PDT

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The Associated Press reported that Ibrahim Hassan Tali al Asiri, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's senior bomb maker, may have been killed in the same strike that killed Anwar al Awlaki and possibly Samir Khan. The report has not been confirmed. I heard some speculation Friday evening about Asiri being killed, but nothing definitive. From the AP report:

Two US officials say the drone strike in Yemen that killed Anwar al-Awlaki appears to have also killed al-Qaida's top Saudi bomb-maker.

Officials say intelligence indicates Ibrahim al-Asiri also died in the attack. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the death has not been officially confirmed.

Asiri may have well been with Awlaki and Khan, as he has produced propaganda for AQAP in the past. In December 2010, Asiri announced the death of Abu Hammam Qahtani, the founder of Sada al Malahim, AQAP's print magazine.

 

The US added Asiri to the list of designated terrorists in March of this year. Asiri is best known for assembling the explosive device that was used by his brother, who in some circles is known as the 'anal bomber.' From the LWJ report on Asiri's designation:

Asiri was described by State as the "primary bomb maker" for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Prior to joining AQAP's operations in Yemen, Asiri was a member of an "al Qaeda affiliated terrorist cell" that plotted to attack oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

Asiri is currently wanted by the Saudi government for his role in the attempted assassination of Prince Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the Deputy Minister of the Interior. Asiri designed and assembled the bomb used by his brother, Abdullah Hassan al Asiri, in the Feb. 3, 2009 assassination attempt.

Abdullah lured the Saudi prince to a meeting by claiming he wished to surrender under an amnesty program and reconcile with the government. But instead, Abdullah detonated a bomb that was hidden in his anal cavity. The blast killed only Abdullah; Prince Saud was lightly wounded in the attack.

 

 

 

 

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Replies

  • This is indeed great news......I'm not sure what has happened regarding policy at the highest U.S levels...it's clear we're operating at a faster, more lethal pace.  Could Obama be pulling his last effective punch by loosing the reins on our military forces in hopes of taking some heat off his domestic woes.........

    Something has changed....what you think???

  • This is good news, hard to beat boots on the ground.
  • Harry I put it on your blog of Military eats own but here you go also

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQNitCNycKQ&feature=related
  • Harry...I think Mr. Obama is only marginally involved in these successes...I suspect that it is his advisors who see a political advantage for their hapless, clueless savant leader who told him to sign the papers turning the CIA & certain units loose on the enemy, while keeping the tight reins of mindless ROE on the greater force.

    I still have one friend working in the White House -- a member of the permanent merit system staff -- who tells me that the current occupant of the office is anything but decisive on a wide range of policy topics, but seems most interested in the non-legislative process and that he eagerly uses administrative and regulatory processes to get what he cannot get through the Congress...My friend tells me that the political staff is almost beside themselves at what they now think is the high probability of the 'Affordable Care Act' being overturned, and of a Conservative landslide in Nov. 2012.

    So it seems reasonable to me that Mr. Obama, who has always been anti-millitary in what little of his public record is known would not be himself aggressive in winning the war on either front...if anything, he seems most interested in keeping the promise to his radical Left base to bring the troops home with the missions unfinished...So far, as I read it anyway, he's not even declaring victory and planning the retreat, he's jsut planning the retreat from areas where the US has deep, existential interests...I think these withdrawals are part of his idea for diminishing US power...He knows the other sides will see the withdrawal and retreat and abandonment of our power positions...that will embolden them and weaken our ablity to protect our interests...He sees the US as the hegemonistic power to be taken down...

    I also believe that he intended to be the last elected US President, and incredibly angry that his plan to grab power has been this far frustrated...by 'little people' like us...

    He's trying to play to his far Left base, and then spin the retreat as 'promises kept' to the middle...the people who have been lied to serially, daily for a decade by the LeftMedia about the true nature of the war against radical Islam...Most folks will probably believe that quitting areas so vital to our interests is a good thing...the 'boys will be back home where they belong' is the game Mr. Obama will play...and it is the story too many folks will believe.

    • Interesting observations Jim...and I think on the mark.........For sure Obama plays only a minimal part, if that, in the military successes but his handlers see the threat to their place at the trough and are encouraging him to take any action he can that will get positive reflection.  With the killing of Bin Laden, al Awlaki, and now the capture in Afghanistan he's getting some praise even from Republicans on these successes.  It takes some of the sting away from his utter failure on the domestic front..

      He may play to his left base, but the independents and conservatives clearly are not impressed in the least...he will go down in Nov 2012 if we have a solid conservative opponent.  We don't need more McAmnesty's...we need a true conservative that eats, breathes, and exercises the US Constitution..........

       

      • On the brighter side, we have an excellent field of candidates at this early stage in the race...a pair of them will likely emerge as a very solid ticket...since no person can be the perfect Conservative candidate it will take a team to 1. beat Obama and 2. govern. As you know, the intricacies of legislating are byzantine and convoluted. The person who can lead overall may not have the skills to deal with Congress and get the right legislation in place to begin repairing 90 years of Progressive damage to our institutions; and the technocrat who can craft a legislative repair agenda may be 'too nerdy' to capture the voters' enthusiasm...but together, a sharp, constitutionally focused team can pull us back from the brink of the Progressive abyss...

        Mr. Obama (I just can't bring myself to apply the "P-word" to the man) is fast approaching desperate, I think...and his handlers must be almost beside themselves because the people who own Mr. Obama will not be happy with any of them.

  • Could all this have something to do with Petraus in the CIA
    • Hmmmmm...good thought Marianne.......
    • Hi, Marianne!  I don't think Petraus has had time yet to make much of a difference...he will, of that I'm sure...Credit for the Awlaki kill and this catch must go to the thousands of real professionals who did the flatfoot work for months -- possibly years -- to get these things done...Mr. Obama and his gang of thugs & thieves had nothing or almost nothing to do with any our battlefield successes...they're anti-American buffoons, which is the nicest thing I can say about any of them. :-(
      • Well, I'm aware there are many upset with Petraus, but I honestly don't feel in my heart that he is one of Obama's gang of thugs. And I truly feel that with the commie (what the hell was his name) out of the CIA, it seems that once Petraus took over, everything has been escalating with victories for us over there.

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