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Afghanistan’s new interior minister has been appointed by the Taliban, who had been declared a designated terrorist for whom the United States government has placed a $5 million bounty.
In 2017, a truck bomb explosion in Kabul killed more than 150 people, according to reports from the BBC. Sirajuddin Haqqani “is the leader of the militant group known as the Haqqani network, which is affiliated with the Taliban and has been responsible for some of the deadliest attacks during the country’s two-decade-long war,” according to reports from the BBC. “In contrast to the wider Taliban, the Haqqani network has been designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization. “It also has strong ties to al-Qaeda.”
The FBI says that Sirajuddin Haqqani is “wanted for questioning in connection with the January 2008 attack on a hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, that killed six people, including an American citizen.”
“He is believed to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against the United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan,” the FBI added. “Haqqani also allegedly was involved in the planning of the assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2008.”
So, the #Taliban just appointed #Sirajuddin Haqqani as #Afghanistan's Interior Minister.
He's a U.S. "most wanted terrorist."
At least 3 other Haqqani's in the "cabinet," including another "most wanted" — Khalil Haqqani, who's Minister of Refugees. pic.twitter.com/f3QhKZa3iJ
— Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) September 7, 2021
In a statement released by the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Sirajuddin Haqqani is described as “currently leading the day-to-day activities” of the Haqqani Network, which is a Sunni Islamist insurgent organization formed by Jalaluddin Haqqani and based in Pakistan.
ODNI added:
The Haqqani Network is primarily based in North Waziristan, Pakistan, and conducts cross-border operations into eastern Afghanistan and Kabul. The group is primarily composed of members of the Zadran tribe. The Haqqanis are considered the most lethal and sophisticated insurgent group targeting US, Coalition, and Afghan forces in Afghanistan; they typically conduct coordinated small-arms assaults coupled with rocket attacks, IEDs, suicide attacks, and attacks using bomb-laden vehicles.
The Haqqani Network is responsible for some of the highest-profile attacks of the Afghan war, including the June 2011 assault on the Kabul Intercontinental Hotel, conducted jointly with the Afghan Taliban, and two major suicide bombings—in 2008 and 2009—against the Indian Embassy in Kabul. In September 2011, the Haqqanis participated in a day-long assault against major targets in Kabul, including the US Embassy, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters, the Afghan Presidential Palace, and the Afghan National Directorate of Security headquarters. More recently, in October 2013, Afghan security forces intercepted a truck bomb deployed by the Haqqanis against Forward Operating Base Goode in Paktiya Province. The device, which did not detonate, contained some 61,500 pounds of explosives and was the largest truck bomb ever built. The group is also involved in a number of criminal activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including extortion, kidnapping for ransom, and smuggling.