Founder of Militant Afghan Haqqani Network has Died

The Afghan Taliban have announced the death of Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the Haqqani Network, one of Afghanistan’s most feared militant groups after a long illness on Tuesday.
A report says, the founder of the outlawed outfit had been paralyzed for the past 10 years and reports of his death had even surfaced in 2015.
Haqqani originally founded the group to fight Soviet occupation in the 1970s, and was once funded by the CIA and lionised by some in the US.
Haqqani rose to prominence as a guerrilla leader in the U.S.-backed campaign against Soviet forces occupying Afghanistan but later allied himself with the Taliban, fighting American troops after the Taliban were ousted in 2001.
His group became known for complex, well-organized attacks on both Afghan and U.S. military as well as civilian targets and high-profile kidnappings.
In its statement, the Taliban called Jalaluddin an “exemplary warrior… and among the great distinguished Jihadi personalities of this era”.
“Just as he endured great hardships for the religion of Allah during his youth and health, he also endured long illness during his later years,” a statement from the Afghan Taliban said.
Haqqani joined the Taliban government as minister for tribal affairs after they captured Kabul in 1996, fleeing after they were ousted in late 2001 and taking up arms again. Later The Haqqani network was declared a terrorist organisation by the United States in 2012.
> Shatabdi Sarker Poushi