The Afghanistan War
U.S. Armed Forces member in Paktiya, Afghanistan. Creative Common

NATO officials said they have killed a senior commander of the Haqqani terrorist group and other fighters in Afghanistan.

The Haqqani member, who was believed to have been involved in the recently deadly attack on a luxury hotel in Kabul, died in an air strike.

Although the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul (which killed almost two-dozen people), NATO believes Haqqani also participated in it.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) identified the dead man as Ismail Jan, and claimed he was killed in the eastern province of Paktiya, which borders Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions.

Ismail Jan was the deputy to the senior Haqqani commander inside Afghanistan, Haji Mali Khan. Jan and several Haqqani fighters were killed in the strike, ISAF’s statement said.

ISAF also stated that his location was tracked by security forces based on intelligence reports from Afghan government officials and citizens.

Haqqani, which is linked to both the Taliban and al-Qaeda, is regarded as the most formidable enemy of NATO troops in eastern Afghanistan.

Afghan officials reportedly believe that Haqqani has a close relationship with Pakistan’s intelligence community.

Al-Qaeda Mali Pakistan Afghanistan