- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- At Istanbul church, blessed spring offers hope to Christians and Muslims
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- Myanmar to send rep to regional summit for first time in three years
- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- Category 5 Hurricane Milton roars towards storm-battered Florida
- Carpenter bomb stuns Guardians as Tigers level series
- Harris, Trump and Biden mark Oct. 7 attacks as US election looms
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ |
Taliban's secretive Haqqani Network leader finally shows his face
One of the Taliban's most secretive leaders, whose only picture on US "most wanted" lists is a grainy semi-covered profile, was photographed openly for the first time Saturday at a passing-out parade for new Afghan police recruits.
Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who also heads the feared Haqqani Network, has previously only been photographed clearly from behind -- even since the hardline Islamists seized power last August.
"For your satisfaction and for building your trust... I am appearing in the media in a public meeting with you," he said in a speech at the parade.
Before the Taliban's return, Haqqani was the most senior of three deputies to leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Akhundzada himself hasn't been seen in public for years, and many Afghan analysts believe he may not even be alive.
Haqqani heads a powerful subset of the Taliban blamed for some of the worst violence of the past 20 years.
The United States has offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest, saying he was responsible for a string of terror attacks.
Pictures of Haqqani were being widely shared on social media Saturday by Taliban officials who had previously only posted photographs that didn't show his face, or if it had been digitally blurred.
At the police parade Saturday, Haqqani was dressed like many of the senior Taliban officials -- very heavily bearded and wearing a black turban and white shawl.
He said he was showing his face so "you could know how much value we have with our leadership".
- Not seen in public -
Haqqani's appearance also suggests the Taliban have grown even more confident of their hold on the country since seizing power on August 15, two weeks before the last US-led foreign forces left.
Several diplomats were in the crowd -- including Pakistan's ambassador -- even though no country has officially recognised the new Taliban regime.
The Haqqani Network, founded in the 1970s by Jalaluddin Haqqani, was heavily supported by the CIA during the Mujahideen war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is believed to be in his 40s, is his son, and succeeded him following his death in 2018.
The latter was blamed for the deadly 2008 attack on Kabul's Serena Hotel that killed six people, as well as at least one assassination attempt against former Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The FBI Rewards for Justice programme says he maintains "close ties" to Al Qaeda, and "is a specially designated global terrorist".
He is reported to have been the target of several US drone strikes -- in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and in the rugged terrain between them that is the heartland of the Haqqani Network.
He was also credited as the author of a New York Times opinion piece in 2020 titled "What We, the Taliban, Want", sparking controversy that the newspaper had given "terrorists" a public platform.
L.Davis--AMWN