ISLAMABAD — CIA missiles struck the most feared Afghan Taliban faction, narrowly missing its commander and killing his brother in the latest blow to the insurgents, Pakistani intelligence officials said Friday.
The attack against the Haqqani group, which has close ties to al-Qaeda, followed the arrest of the Afghan insurgency’s No. 2 figure and the assault on the Taliban’s southern heartland in Afghanistan — all providing an early boost to the Obama administration’s bid to reverse the tide of war.
Siraj Haqqani, the group’s leader, was the apparent target of the attack Thursday on a village in the insurgents’ North Waziristan sanctuary, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Haqqani was in the village to attend a funeral. Afterward, he told his brother Mohammed to drive his sport utility vehicle to a hideout. Moments after Mohammed Haqqani climbed aboard, two missiles struck the vehicle, killing him and three other militants.
Had Siraj Haqqani been killed, it would have been a major blow to one of the most aggressive insurgent groups in Afghanistan. The fact that the U.S. came so close suggests the CIA is tightening the noose around the Haqqani organization. The attack also suggests the Pakistanis might be providing vital intelligence to the U.S.
The two Haqqanis are sons of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a U.S. ally in the war against the Soviets in the 1980s who has maintained close ties to the Pakistani military and intelligence for decades.
Who may move up
Possible successors to the Afghan Taliban’s No. 2, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, who recently was arrested by Pakistani authorities:
• Mullah Mohammad Hassan: A former governor of Kandahar when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan who has military and civilian experience.
• Abdullah Ghulam Rasoul: Joined the Taliban in 1995. He was captured in 2001 and imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He was handed over to the Afghan government in December 2007 and freed.
• Agha Jan Mohtasim: A former finance minister who is reported to have family ties to Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
• Akthar Mansour: Nicknamed “King of Planes,” he is the former Taliban minister of civil aviation and former director of military aviation.
The Associated Press
