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Two Haqqani Militant Leaders Arrested, Afghan Officials Say 2 Haqqani Militant Leaders Are Captured, Afghan Officials Say
(about 9 hours later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghan intelligence service said Thursday that it had arrested two senior leaders of the Haqqani Network, a Taliban-allied group that has carried out some of the most brazen attacks on Western and Afghan targets in Afghanistan in recent years. KABUL, Afghanistan — In a blow to a major component of the Taliban insurgency, two senior leaders of the Haqqani Network, a group responsible for numerous attacks against the Afghan government and its Western allies, were reported to be in Afghan custody on Thursday.
Anas Haqqani, a son of the group’s founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, and Hafiz Rashid, a senior commander who coordinated suicide bombings, were arrested in an operation in Khost Province, along the border with Pakistan, on Tuesday night, the National Directorate of Security announced. The Afghan intelligence service said it had captured Anas Haqqani, a son of the Haqqani Network’s founder, and Hafiz Rashid, a senior commander who coordinated suicide bombings, during an operation in eastern Khost Province on Tuesday night.
The spy agency released mug shots of the two men and, in a statement, described their arrests as a major coup. But a senior United States government official said the two men had been arrested in a Persian Gulf country and transferred into Afghan custody, and that the Afghan account was a smoke screen to hide the identity of the gulf country. 
The Haqqani Network is one of the most potent elements of the Taliban insurgency, demonstrating a ruthless flair in mounting ambitious attacks on high-profile targets. In recent years its fighters and suicide bombers have attacked the InterContinental Hotel, the American Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul, and an American base in Wardak Province. “Their arrest is a signal that the gulf governments are going to make it more difficult for Afghan insurgents to raise funds,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He declined to identify the country involved, but said that the two men had been traveling in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and a third country he described as “a major transit hub in the region.”
The group’s success stems partly from its ability to straddle the border with Pakistan, where it operates with apparent impunity from the tribal district of North Waziristan — a source of much frustration among American and Afghan officials. Anas Haqqani is not a well-known commander of the Haqqani Network, which is run by his older brother, Sirajuddin Haqqani. But in the past year he has become a more prominent member of the group through his fund-raising work in the gulf countries, which have been a rich source of money for the group since the 1980s, American and Afghan officials said.
Anas Haqqani is not a well-known commander of the group, which is run by his brother, Sirajuddin Haqqani. The intelligence agency provided little information about the operation that led to his capture, describing him as someone who had directed Haqqani Network propaganda efforts on social media, and who played a key role in strategic decision-making. The Afghan spy agency, the National Directorate of Security, said that Mr. Haqqani had also directed Haqqani Network propaganda efforts on social media and played a crucial role in strategic decision-making.
Anas Haqqani, the agency said, had also raised money for the Haqqani Network in Gulf countries — a major source of revenue since the guerrilla war against Soviet-occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s, when the Haqqanis were a key ally of both the United States and Saudi Arabia. The agency described the other captive, Mr. Rashid, as a senior militant commander who had equipped suicide bombers, chosen their targets and moved them from safe houses in Pakistan across the border into Afghanistan.
The agency described Hafiz Rashid, who was arrested alongside Mr. Haqqani, as a senior military commander who had equipped suicide bombers, chosen their targets and moved them from safe houses in Pakistan across the border into Afghanistan. Mr. Rashid also comes from a prominent jihadist family. His brother, Mohammad Nabi Omari, was one of five detainees who were transferred from the American prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Qatar last June, as part of a deal to secure the release of the captured American soldier Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.
Mr. Rashid also comes from a prominent jihadist family. His brother, Mohammad Nuri Omari, was one of five detainees who were transferred from the American prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to Qatar last June, as part of a deal to secure the release of the captured American soldier Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. Among recent attacks for which Afghan officials believe Mr. Rashid was responsible was a devastating car bombing that killed at least 89 people in a bazaar in eastern Afghanistan this summer, according to a former Afghan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence.  
The agency claimed that Mr. Rashid had lived in Chakwal district of Pakistan — an agricultural area in Punjab Province that has traditionally been a major recruiting ground for the Pakistani armed forces. In its statement, the Afghan intelligence agency claimed that Mr. Rashid had been living in the Chakwal district of Pakistan at the time of his capture — an area that is a famous recruiting ground for the Pakistani armed forces.
The arrests come as American combat forces and other Western troops are leaving Afghanistan, and the Afghans hailed them as a strategic victory against a major foe. The reference was a pointed nod to longstanding Afghan accusations that the Pakistani military is secretly supporting the Haqqani Network, which has operated freely from the tribal district of North Waziristan, to protect its strategic interests inside Afghanistan.
Still, the Haqqanis have suffered major leadership losses in the past, only to continue operations. One of the network’s deputy leaders, Nasiruddin Haqqani, was shot dead on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, in November 2013. A year earlier, an American drone strike in North Waziristan killed his brother, Badruddin Haqqani, who was considered the group’s operational commander. For the Afghans, the arrests presented an important success at a time of great strain for the security forces, with Taliban forces stepping up attacks on government forces as American combat troops are pulling out of the country.
An American congressional report last January estimated the Haqqani Network’s strength at about 3,000 fighters, which is slightly smaller than the estimated size of the Khost Protection Force, a C.I.A.-funded Afghan tribal militia that operates in the same area. The Haqqani Network has carried out some of the most audacious attacks of recent years, including assaults on the InterContinental Hotel, the American Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul, and an American base in Wardak Province. The Afghan intelligence service described the capture of the two men as “one of the biggest and important arrests,” and said it would have a major strategic impact.
In addition to sharing goals and resources with the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani Network has maintained close ties to Al Qaeda, partly because of its historical links with religious conservatives in the Gulf. The Haqqanis also raise money by smuggling, soliciting donations and running a complex web of legal and illegal businesses. Still, the Haqqanis have suffered major leadership losses in the past, only to continue operations. A deputy leader, Nasiruddin Haqqani, was shot dead on the outskirts of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, last November. A year earlier, an American drone strike in North Waziristan killed his brother, Badruddin Haqqani, who was considered the group’s operational commander.
Its close ties to Pakistan’s main military spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence, have been a source of frustration and occasional anger among American officials; in September 2011 the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff described the Haqqani Network as a “veritable arm” of the I.S.I. An American congressional report in January estimated the Haqqani Network’s strength at about 3,000 fighters.
Other American officials have said that the relationship between the I.S.I. and the Haqqanis is less clear-cut than that, but still uncomfortably close. And there have consistently been reports that the Pakistani military offensive against the Taliban and other militants in the tribal area of North Waziristan have left the Haqqanis relatively unscathed. The American government official said that the arrests were partly a gesture of good will toward the new Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, who some gulf states view as a “more open” figure than his predecessor, Hamid Karzai.
As American officials have reached out to the Taliban to engage them in negotiations with the Afghan government, they have also tried to draw the Haqqanis into talks. In 2011, an American official held an unofficial meeting with Ibrahim Haqqani, a senior family member, in a Gulf country. One American official with knowledge of the meeting, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said an I.S.I. representative had accompanied Mr. Haqqani to that meeting. “Karzai wouldn’t listen to the gulf states, or anyone else,” said the official, referring to acrimonious disputes over a Taliban peace process, anchored in Qatar, that ultimately collapsed.
But that effort at diplomacy later foundered alongside the collapse of a broader effort to draw the Taliban into talks. Now, Afghanistan’s new president, Ashraf Ghani, has promised to re-engage with the Taliban in a bid to end an insurgency that is placing the Afghan security services under increasing pressure, amid surging attacks across the country. Now that Mr. Ghani’s government has two Haqqani leaders in its custody, there was speculation about how they might be used.
During the presidential race, Mr. Ghani’s campaign claimed to have worked through tribal intermediaries to win promises from the Haqqanis that they would not disrupt the runoff election in June, according to a report released by the International Crisis Group on Thursday. Two other American officials, both speaking on the condition of anonymity, expressed concern that the Afghans might try to trade them for Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a senior Taliban leader who is believed to be in Pakistani custody and has been the subject of fevered negotiations between the two countries.
Mr. Ghani’s handling of the arrests may offer a hint of his broader policy toward insurgents, said Graeme Smith, a Kabul-based analyst with the International Crisis Group. “Is this an opportunity to use this guy as a channel for negotiations?” he said. “Or is it a chance to punish someone who has been responsible for a great number of deaths?” Others say they could be used to kick-start the moribund peace talks. In the past, American officials have tried to draw the Haqqanis into the larger Taliban talks, in recognition of their central role in the insurgency.
In 2011, an American official held an unofficial meeting with Ibrahim Haqqani, a senior family member, in a gulf country. One American official with knowledge of the meeting, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that a senior official of the Pakistani spy agency had accompanied Mr. Haqqani to the meeting.
That effort toward negotiations ultimately foundered. But now, Mr. Ghani has indicated that he is ready to try again.
During the presidential race, his campaign claimed to have worked through tribal intermediaries to win promises from the Haqqanis that they would not disrupt the runoff election, according to a report released by the International Crisis Group on Thursday.
How Mr. Ghani handles the latest arrests may offer a hint of his broader policy toward insurgents, said Graeme Smith, a Kabul-based analyst with the Crisis Group. “Is this an opportunity to use this guy as a channel for negotiations?” he said. “Or is it a chance to punish someone who has been responsible for a great number of deaths?”