Afghans, Nato launch ‘new push against Haqqanis’

Afghan security forces and their Nato allies have launched a new push against the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network along the troubled Pakistani border, senior defence officials said on Tuesday.

The United States recently accused the Haqqanis of orchestrating a 19-hour siege of the US embassy in Kabul, a September truck bombing on a Nato outpost that wounded 77 Americans and a June attack on Kabul’s InterContinental hotel.

US commanders say the network, a faction of the Afghan Taliban, is their most potent enemy in eastern Afghanistan and increasingly capable of launching high-profile attacks in Kabul.

Afghan Defence minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said operation “Knife Edge” was launched two days ago, while a senior defence ministry official said it was “largely against the Haqqani network”.

Washington last month dramatically escalated pressure on Pakistan to crackdown on the Haqqani network, with the then military chief Admiral Mike Mullen accusing Pakistani intelligence of involvement in the embassy siege.

The accusations caused damaging diplomatic rifts as the West seeks to end the 10-year war in Afghanistan.

The Afghan ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the operation was tied to the recent spats between Washington and Islamabad, but gave no details about its scale.

A Nato spokesman confirmed only that “enhanced official operations” were ongoing in the eastern region that borders Pakistan, but offered no further details for security reasons.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a weaponry exhibition in Kabul, Wardak said the operation would “deliver a crashing blow to the enemy’s capabilities to conduct operations, especially terrorist operations during the winter”.

“This operation is launched along the border because the enemy lately operates along the border on both sides. Sometimes on this side and sometimes on the other side,” said the Afghan chief of army staff, Sher Mohammad Karimi.

On Monday, the Pentagon said cross-border attacks emanating from Pakistan against US-led forces in Afghanistan have increased since US troops killed Osama bin Laden near Islamabad last May.

US soldiers in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province told the New York Times that rocket fire had dramatically increased from Pakistani territory.

There were at least 102 “close-border” attacks against three US outposts in Paktika since May, compared to 13 during the same period last year, it said.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have for months traded accusations of responsibility for deadly attacks across both sides of the border.

Afghanistan is building up its national security forces, including a 193,000-strong army, trained and equipped mostly by the United States, which has around 100,000 troops in the country fighting the Taliban-led insurgency.