Haqqani behind brazen Kabul attacks: Afghan interior minister

Kabul, Apr 16: The Pakistan-based Haqqani network is suspected to have carried out the brazen suicide attacks on western embassies and Parliament here, the Afghan Interior Minister has said.

Bismillah Mohammadi said that one of the militants arrested during the latest attacks on the Afghan capital and three other cities had told the authorities that al-Qaeda linked Haqqani network was behind the assaults. The minister told reporters that 36 militants and eight members of the Afghan security forces had been killed in the 18-hour operation to flush out the holed-up militants.

The involvement of the Haqqani network, Mohammadi said, was corroborated by another militant caught in Nangarhar Province. Western officials also said that the attacks bore the hallmarks of the Haqqani network, which has focussed on attacks against high-profile Afghan government and foreign targets.

New York Times quoting the officials said that the network based in Pakistan was a source of tension between Washington and Islamabad. The Haqqani network, officials said, have now become the focus of American military effort.

PTI