The State Department has said the United States and Pakistan can and should do more together to stem militant activities of the Afghan Haqqani group, which Washington holds responsible for a spate of attacks against Afghanistan-based American troops.
Meanwhile, an American official confirmed to The Washington Post the death of Badruddin Haqqani, a leader of the Afghan militant network operating on both sides along Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in a drone fire in tribal areas last week.
“We continue to try to strengthen the work we do together against the Haqqani Network. Our view remains that we can and should be doing more together, and we are looking forward to being able to do that,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said.
With regard to the larger counterterrorism US-Pakistan cooperation, the spokesperson said the United States has been encouraged by the recent revival of Pakistani border routes for NATO supplies into Afghanistan.
“We, as you know, are encouraged that the GLOCs (ground lines of communication) are now open, that we are able to work well together on moving cargo,” Nuland noted at the daily briefing.
In a report Thursday, the Post said the Obama administration officials have confirmed the death of commander of the Badruddin Haqqani in a missile strike in Pakistani border area.
Badruddin Haqqani was the third-ranking official of the militant group, which the administration considers the most potent threat to U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, and the most senior member killed to date, the newspaper said.
His father, Jalaluddin Haqqani, founded the network and remains its titular head, and his brother, Sirajuddin, is its current leader.
Afghan officials had previously said that Badruddin was killed in one of at least six reported drone strikes since Aug. 18 in North Waziristan, a Pakistani tribal area that borders Afghanistan, but U.S. officials had said at that time that they were still trying to confirm the report.
