Some of the top Taliban leaders are gathering in Kabul these days to discuss the formation of a new Afghan government. A representative of the country's most feared terrorist group, known as Haqqani Network.
The Haqqani have been accused of carrying out the bloodiest attacks in recent years, which resulted in the deaths of civilians, government officials and foreign military forces. The Haqqani are responsible for the attack on the Serena Hotel in 2008, the one on the American base located in Khost with a dozen suicide bombers, in 2012, and the one that took place in 2017 near the German embassy with a truck bomb that killed 96 people . Despite their reputation, they too will be part of the new regime in Afghanistan
The group was founded by Jalaluddin Haqqani and distinguished himself in the 80s in the jihad against the former Soviet Union. At the time they were a valuable asset to the CIA and Pakistan who provided them with money and weapons.
After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Jalaluddin Haqqani forged ties with foreign jihadists, including those of Al Qaeda which belonged to Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden himself trained in a camp run by the Haqqani. The Haqqani Network and Al Qaeda, in fact, jointly ran training camps in Pakistan.
According to an American report from January this year, the two groups were trying to form a joint and integrated unit.
Today the Haqqani group, with the approval of NATO and the US, is in charge of the security of Kabul, including the airport area. In essence, they manage the fate of thousands of Western civilians and Afghan coalition collaborators.
In this regard, the aspect according to which the current head of the group, Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani, was placed on the list of global terrorists by the US Treasury Department and the United Nations.
All this, however, contrasts with the agreement signed on February 29, 2020 in Doha between the US administration and the Taliban, who had committed themselves to fighting other terrorist formations in Afghanistan, including al Qaeda and former Isis.
