Interior Ministry - Afghans Say Top Haqqani Leader Was Killed In U - Drone Strike Reuters

By Hamid Shalizi

KABUL Sun Aug 26, 2012 3:30pm EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan mentioned on Sunday that thought that a top commander of the militant Haqqani insurgent multilevel acquired been killed within a U.S. drone strike, citing intelligence reports that them said countered Afghan Taliban boasts that will Badruddin Haqqani ended up being however alive.

Haqqani, who appeared to be scalp with experditions and leaped your network's essential small business interests, has been considered to obtain happen to be killed throughout the actual affect this kind of week inside Pakistan's tribal North Waziristan, both Afghanistan's Interior Ministry plus nationwide spy agent said.

"The removal regarding Badruddin Haqqani will cope a primary knock back along with really serious setback towards the Haqqani Network," Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

Shafiquallh Tahriri, spokesman to get Afghanistan's criminal firm that National Directorate of Security, also mentioned this Haqqani was mortally wounded past week, according to data from Afghan agencies gathered out of sources inside Pakistan.

Tahriri rejected to talk about just what exactly evidence ended up being inside stories the us government had received, such as whether anyone had really viewed Badruddin Haqqani's body.

However, Afghanistan's Taliban, allies on the Haqqani network, retrenched claims associated with Badruddin's dying upon Saturday as propaganda from Pakistan's army along with the NATO-Afghan coalition.

Maulvi Ahmed Jan, a senior Haqqani circle commander, furthermore denied of which Badruddin - the particular youngster of the network's creator Jalaluddin Haqqani - had happen to be harmed and said that insurgents could in the near future present evidence he or she was alive.

U.S. authorities pin the consequence on the al Qaeda-linked Haqqanis for some of the most severe the latest approaches in Afghanistan, like an April 15 attack about embassies, NATO head office along with the parliament in Kabul which in turn lasted eighteen hours, killing eleven Afghan safety aids and four civilians.

Another assault inside June which Afghan in addition to Western officials blamed for the Haqqanis saw insurgents provided by using rocket-propelled grenades and also weighty machineguns tornado a new hotel on that borders connected with Kabul, preventing 20 largely civilians.

The United States accuses Pakistan's intelligence organization associated with boosting the Haqqani circle along with with it like a proxy in Afghanistan in order to attain leverage contrary to the rising effect with it's arch-rival India in the country.

Pakistan denies the allegations.

(Writing through Rob Taylor; Editing by way of Louise Ireland)