Sirajuddin

ISLAMABAD Reuters - The Haqqani network, one of the most feared insurgent groups in Afghanistan, would take part in peace talks with the Kabul government and the United States only if the Taliban did, its leader Sirajuddin Haqqani told Reuters on Saturday.

Exclusive: Haqqanis to follow Taliban on Afghan peace The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

The group has become so confident after battlefield gains, that it no longer has sanctuaries in Pakistan, and instead felt secure inside Afghanistan, said Sirajuddin in a rare interview, by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Exclusive: Haqqanis to follow Taliban on Afghan peace Reuters 2011

Speaking of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who has taken over military leadership of the Haqqani group from his ailing father, Jalaluddin, a diplomat involved in the discussions said: The ice has broken.

US and Afghan governments make contact with Haqqani insurgents Julian Borger 2010

Pakistan's Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, has long been suspected of maintaining ties with the Haqqani network, cultivated during the 1980s when Sirajuddin's father, Jalaluddin Haqqani, was a notorious battlefield commander against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

Exclusive: Haqqanis to follow Taliban on Afghan peace Reuters 2011

The network, led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, is allied to the Taliban but operates independently; coalition commanders and Afghan officials consider it the deadliest of the various insurgent groups that operate under the Taliban umbrella, and blame it for many high-profile attacks in Kabul and eastern Afghanistan.

Afghan Attacks Kill Scores Over Weekend Matthew Rosenberg 2011

A source directly involved in the reconciliation process said there had also been a face-to-face meeting between Karzai and Sirajuddin Haqqani on the Afghan-Pakistan border in the spring, but this could not be confirmed.

US and Afghan governments make contact with Haqqani insurgents Julian Borger 2010

The commander and others blamed the bloodiest of the recent attacks on the Haqqani network, a particularly violent insurgent faction led by Sirajuddin Haqqani .

Taliban in PR Scramble After Attacks Matthew Rosenberg 2011

He had interviewed some of the most notorious leaders, including Sirajuddin Haqqani, a major player in the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, and Ilyas Kashmiri, a Pakistani militant who works for al-Qaida.

Missing Pakistan journalist Saleem Shahzad found dead near Islamabad 2011

One American official told the Guardian that the group's commander, Sirajuddin Haqqani, may have become as powerful as the Taliban leadership council known as the Quetta shura.

Pakistan blocks Nato supply route to Afghanistan Declan Walsh in Islamabad 2010

The group has become so confident after battlefield gains, that it no longer has sanctuaries in Pakistan, and instead felt secure inside Afghanistan, said Sirajuddin in a rare interview, by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Exclusive: Haqqanis to follow Taliban on Afghan peace The Huffington Post News Editors 2011