An Al Qaeda-linked commander directing a brutal wave of violence in Afghanistan, Siraj Haqqani, is trying to rival Mullah Mohammad Omar for the Taliban leadership, the US-led coalition said Friday.Haqqani represents a “younger, more aggressive generation of Taliban senior leadership” and has extended his influence from his base in the east to central provinces near Kabul and into the volatile south, it said in a statement. The coalition, leading the US “war on terror” in Afghanistan, has issued a 200,000-dollar reward for the arrest of Haqqani as part of a Most Wanted campaign, which will see posters of about 12 wanted militants put up in the east in the coming weeks.
Haqqani, son of well-known Soviet resistance commander Jalaluddin Haqqani - said to be close to Mullah Omar, is one of the most influential insurgent commanders in the east, the statement said. “His reach now certainly exceeds that of his father and Siraj is working to rival Mullah Omar for the Taliban leadership,” said Major Chris Belcher, coalition spokesman.
| There was a story a few months back that Jalaluddin was dead of hepatitis. It's possible, or he may be retired. |
The coalition said the militantÂ’s close connections with Al Qaeda have enabled him collect financial support from Middle Eastern countries and to recruit foreign fighters, including from, Uzbekistan, Chechnya and Turkey. The US-led force said it has been carrying out operations to disrupt the Haqqani network, including patrols to clear villages that have led to the detention of more than 30 Haqqani fighters.
| I've been lumping "Taliban" all together, including Hezbies unless they're so noted in the news stories, which they're not usually. But there are differences among them. I think of the differences kind of in the same sense as you'd consider different brigades within a single military structure, only with more autonomy. And poorer leadership. |