Jalaluddin Haqqani

Jalaluddin Haqqani (Pashto: جلال الدين حقاني, romanized: Jalāl al-Dīn Ḥaqqānī) (1939 – 3 September 2018) was an Afghan insurgent commander who founded the Haqqani network, an insurgent group fighting in guerilla warfare against US-led NATO forces and the now former government of Afghanistan they support.

He distinguished himself as an internationally sponsored insurgent fighter in the 1980s during the Soviet–Afghan War, including in Operation Magistral. He earned U.S. praise and was called "goodness personified" by the U.S. officials. US officials have admitted that during the Soviet–Afghan War, he was a prized asset of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Former U.S. president Ronald Reagan called Jalaluddin Haqqani a "freedom fighter" during the Soviet–Afghan War. By 2004, he was directing pro-Taliban insurgent group to launch a holy war in Afghanistan. In 2016, U.S. Lieutenant General John W. Nicholson Jr. claimed that the U.S. and NATO were not targeting Haqqani's network in Afghanistan.

Media reports emerged in late July 2015 that Haqqani had died the previous year. According to the reports, he died in Afghanistan and was buried in Khost Province of Afghanistan. These reports were denied by the Taliban and some members of the Haqqani family. On 3 September 2018, the Taliban released a statement announcing that Haqqani had died after a long illness in Afghanistan.