Skip to main content

Militant leader killed in eastern Afghanistan

  • Story Highlights
  • Mullah Sangeen killed by Afghan and coalition forces, coalition forces say
  • Second senior Haqqani network leader to be killed in the past 45 days
  • Reward of $20,000 had been offered for information leading to his capture
  • Next Article in World »
Decrease font Decrease font
Enlarge font Enlarge font

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The number two in command of the Taliban's Haqqani network was killed by Afghan and coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday, the U.S.-led coalition said in a news release on Thursday.

Mullah Sangeen, who was blamed for leading roadside bomb attacks, was the second senior Haqqani network leader to be killed in the past 45 days, the spokesman said. Abdul Manan was killed October 28.

Sangeen was second in command to militant commander Siraj Haqqani. The coalition noted that "Haqqani's father, Jalaludin Haqqani, was renowned in Afghanistan for bravery in battles against the Russians here during the 1980s."

"That we would get two Haqqani sub-commanders so close together certainly raises an eyebrow and begins to make me wonder if Haqqani isn't looking to get rid of those sub-commanders he doesn't trust. Certainly, that's all speculative, but it does make one wonder," said Lt. Col. Dave Anders, Combined Joint Task Force-82 operations officer.

"This behavior is typical of what we've come to learn about Haqqani. He isn't his father," Anders said.

advertisement

"Siraj remains in Pakistan in relative safety and puts his subordinates in grave danger. It's a different kind of leadership."

The U.S. government has offered monetary rewards for information leading to the capture of the men, $200,000 for Haqqani and $20,000 for Sangeen. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

Journalist Farhad Piekar contributed to this report

  • E-mail
  • Save
  • Print