Afghanistan captures Taliban-linked group leaders

17102014

Afghan intelligence officials say their forces have captured 2 leaders of a hard-line militant group within the Taliban.The country’s intelligence agency said on Thursday that its forces had conducted a special operation in the eastern province of Khost 2 days before. Afghan agency officials said their forces detained Anas Haqqani and a commander of the Haqqani network.

Officials said Anas Haqqani is a son of the network’s founder and played a role in raising funds in the Middle East and conducting propaganda activities using the Internet.

Haqqani network was once based in neighboring Pakistan, and staged a number of terrorist attacks and raids. The group is believed to have moved to Afghanistan to evade military operations in Pakistan.

Afghan officials said the capture of the two is important and will weaken the network’s combat capabilities.Ashraf Ghani became the president of Afghanistan in September. He called on Taliban to join dialogue.