KABUL — NATO forces said Saturday that they had captured a man they described as a high-ranking member of the Haqqani network.
The Afghan-led clan, which U.S. officials have said has strong links with Pakistan’s top spy agency, is accused of launching an hours-long assault on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul last month.
NATO said the clan member, Haji Mali Khan, was the Haqqani network’s top figure inside Afghanistan, a “revered elder” among the clan and an uncle of two of its top leaders. Khan was arrested Tuesday by Afghan and Western forces in the Jani Khel District of Paktia province, in eastern Afghanistan. NATO said Khan was heavily armed but surrendered without resistance.
It was unclear how Khan’s detention would affect the Haqqani leadership, their criminal money-making activities or their ability to send bombers and gunmen into Afghanistan.
The New York Times
