Afghan Taliban announce death of Haqqani network founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani

The Afghan Taliban has announced that the founder of Haqqani network, Jalaluddin Haqqani passed away in the morning of September 4. A man who had links with both Al-Qaeda and Taliban, Haqqani had been suffering from serious illness over the past few years prior to his death.

A statement was released regarding his death, which read, "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. If his excellency Haqqani Sahib has departed us physically, his ideology and methodology continue to endure."

In the early 1980's, Haqqani gained prominence after it was reported that he worked in proximity with the CIA in order to tackle the forces of Soviet Union in Afghanistan. A 2008 book named 'The Bin Ladens' by Steve Coll state that the CIA were sending hefty amount to him in order to fight the forces in Afghanistan.

For over an decade, he worked hand in hand with the US government, before switching his allegiance to Taliban in the mid 90's. Haqqani then served as the organization's military commander in Kabul and years later, was assumed to have had a role in the escape of Osama Bin Laden in 2001.

Haqqani is said to have been ill since many years, though, there have been theories made regading his death. His bedridden situation meant that his son, Sirajuddin, took over as the chief of Haqqani network, along with being the deputy leader of Aghan Taliban.

The Haqqani network was founded by Jalaluddin in 1980s, with the US and Pakistan providing help. It was built to tackle the Soviet forces in Afghanistan, but now, the organization is blamed for many terrorist attacks across the world. It has been designated as a 'terrorist group' by US for their attacks.

The organization is known to attack using suicide bombers. Their most recent brutal act was in 2017, when the group was accused of killing over 150 people  with a truck bomb in Kabul. Further, Haqqani network is also accused of attacking Indian groups and entities in Afghanistan, working close with Pakistan.