Haji Mali Khan, uncle of Sirajuddin & Badruddin Haqqani, captured in Afghanistan

[Saddle Bronc 124]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15136007

The other main Haqqani figures are Jalaluddin Haqqani and his sons Siraj and Badruddin

Afghanistan Haqqani militant Haji Mali Khan captured

2011/10/01 09:19 ET

A senior leader of the militant Haqqani network, Haji Mali Khan, has been captured in Afghanistan, the Nato-led international force Isaf has said.

He was detained during an operation by Afghan and coalition forces in Paktia province on Tuesday, Isaf said.

He was heavily armed but did not resist, it added.

Haji Mali Khan is the senior commander in Afghanistan for the Haqqani network, blamed for some recent Afghan attacks and accused of links to Pakistan.

He is also a revered elder of the clan, the uncle of the network's leader, Siraj Haqqani, and served as an emissary between the Haqqanis and Baitullah Mehsud, the former head of the Pakistani Taliban who was killed in a suspected US missile attack in 2009.

He is accused of setting up bases in Paktia and coordinating the transfer of money for militant operations.

The BBC's Paul Wood in Kabul says Afghan officials describe him as the brain of the network.

The Haqqani are affiliated to the Taliban and have pledged allegiance to their spiritual leader, Mullah Omar. However, some in the West believe the Haqqani also have links to Pakistan's intelligence agency, an accusation Islamabad denies.

Analysis

Paul Wood, BBC Kabul

The Haqqanis are thought, by their detractors anyway, to be as much a crime family as a group of Islamist ideologues. They are accused of running protection rackets, smuggling gemstones, carrying out kidnappings for money and of being guns for hire for the Pakistani intelligence services.

If they are behind recent attacks in Afghanistan, that may be about securing a place at the table in any future peace negotiations and a slice of any future spoils.

Whatever the truth, they're said to have access to an almost limitless supply of young men in the tribal areas of Pakistan willing to carry out suicide attacks. If confirmed, the capture of Commander Khan, while undoubtedly a success for Nato, won't change that.

Change of focus

Isaf said the capture was a "significant milestone in the disruption of the Haqqani network", adding that the network remained a top priority for Afghan and coalition forces.

A large number of other insurgents was captured in the operation, in Jani Khel district, including Mali Khan's deputy and bodyguard.

A senior Afghan intelligence official in Paktia province told the BBC that agents had information of a major attack that was being planned on Jani Khel.

A joint Afghan-Isaf force arrested Haji Mali Khan, whose real name was said to be Ali Khan, in the village of Mana, the official said.

A senior counter-terrorism official in Kabul told the BBC: ''Haji Mali Khan was in charge of suicide attacks, other attacks, money, finance and operations. He was not as brutal as other Haqqanis when it came to dealing with locals. For that he was liked and protected from time to time."

US officials say they are close to deciding whether to label the Haqqani as a foreign terrorist organisation, and on Thursday the treasury department announced new sanctions on five individuals it said were linked to "the most dangerous terrorist organisations operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan".

Mali Khan's capture came days after the assassination of former Afghan president and negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani, which was blamed on the network.

The killing prompted Afghan President Hamid Karzai to say on Friday that he was focusing on talks with Pakistan rather than the Taliban.

Afghan police said an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul in June that left nine attackers, two police and 11 civilians dead, "bore the hallmarks" of the Haqqani.

The Haqqani network was also accused of carrying out a 20-hour attack last month on the Isaf headquarters and the US embassy in Kabul in which some 25 people died.

The US military accused Pakistan of helping the Haqqani in that attack.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm Mike Mullen, said the network was a "veritable arm" of Pakistani intelligence service the ISI.

Pakistan has long denied supporting the Haqqani group, but BBC correspondents say it has a decades-old policy of pursuing foreign policy objectives through alliances with militants.

Although Islamabad denies the network has safe havens inside Pakistan, the country's former national security adviser told the BBC that it was operating in North Waziristan, in Pakistan's restive tribal belt.

"Today North Waziristan is a hot bed," said retired Maj Gen Mahmoud Durani.

The army was too overstretched to take on the Haqqanis, he added.

Translation: "90% of the troops are on the one safe border--that with the neighbour, the hatred of whom, is our raison-d'etre--and we can't afford to reveal this truth!"

Edited October 2, 2011 by Saddle Bronc

[^_^ 5,021]

That doesn't even look like an actual person, it looks like a freakin' cartoon.

[sandinista! 1,816]

what the heck are they doing capturing him-why isn't he in a few dozen little pieces?

[luckytxn 2,265]

what the heck are they doing capturing him-why isn't he in a few dozen little pieces?

He wasn't American.

[Ban Hammer 13,501]

He wasn't American.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

It is something to think about, no? Barry's attorney general pretty much bent over backwards trying to get non-American terrorism suspects from Gitmo transferred to NYC for civilian trials, but they blow away two Americans; no trip to NYC for them. It just seems weird.

He wasn't American.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

It is something to think about, no? Barry's attorney general pretty much bent over backwards trying to get non-American terrorism suspects from Gitmo transferred to NYC for civilian trials, but they blow away two Americans; no trip to NYC for them. It just seems weird.

Exactly how many non-USC enemy combatants have successfully been prosecuted in open Federal court? How many have even been charged and indicted? I guess Eric Holder was a little over confident.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

He wasn't American.

Lucky you and I disagree on a lot of things but man does this deserve a plus 1 !!

[sandinista! 1,816]

That doesn't even look like an actual person, it looks like a freakin' cartoon.

It does, he looks positively nefarious. That picture's like the south Asian terrorist archetype or something.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

That doesn't even look like an actual person, it looks like a freakin' cartoon.

Actually it looks archetypal for a person who lives by "you sin when you shave" promulgated by leering mustachioed erstwhile Pakistan dictator Zia ul-Haq (no coincidence, since Taliban was formed during his term).

[mawilson 2,133]

That doesn't even look like an actual person, it looks like a freakin' cartoon.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing. It looks like a generic Middle-Eastern guy.

[^_^ 5,021]

Actually it looks archetypal for a person who lives by "you sin when you shave" promulgated by leering mustachioed erstwhile Pakistan dictator Zia ul-Haq (no coincidence, since Taliban was formed during his term).

#######?

dude is you crazy?

[scandal 951]

#######?

dude is you crazy?

He's the master of the run-on sentence and the unrelated clause.

Do they have an award for that?

[slim 1,530]

If he surrendered without a fight, I'm guessing he'll "escape" in a few months after he's fattened up and gained enough intel.

[Dan and Judy 614]

The reason for blowing up the US citizen is: You aint allowed to torture them to get the secretes so there is no up side to takin em alive.

We can let the Afgans torture the heck out of this guy with no problem