CIA missiles kill brother of Afghan Taliban leader

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - CIA missiles struck the most feared Afghan Taliban faction, narrowly missing its commander and killing his brother in the latest blow to the insurgents, Pakistani intelligence officials said Friday.

The attack against the Haqqani group, which has close ties to al-Qaida, followed the arrest of the Afghan insurgency's No. 2 figure and the assault on the Taliban's southern heartland in Afghanistan - all providing an early boost to the Obama administration's bid to reverse the tide of war.

Siraj Haqqani, the group's leader, was the apparent target of the attack Thursday in the insurgents' North Waziristan sanctuary, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to release details.

Haqqani was in the village to attend a funeral. Afterward, he told his brother Mohammed to drive his SUV to a hideout. Moments after Mohammed Haqqani climbed aboard two missiles struck the vehicle, killing him and three other militants, Pakistani and Taliban officials said Friday.

Had Siraj Haqqani been killed, it would have been a major blow to one of the most aggressive insurgent groups in Afghanistan. The fact that the United States came so close suggests the CIA is tightening the noose around the Haqqani organization - even in a sanctuary where it has operated for years.

The attack also suggests the Pakistanis may be providing vital intelligence to the United States. The two Haqqanis are sons of Jalaluddin Haqqani, a former U.S. ally in the war against the Soviets in the 1980s.

Little is known about Mohammed Haqqani, but he was considered to be more junior than his brother.

Thursday's strike at the heart of the Haqqani network comes on the heels of the arrests in Pakistan of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, second only to Taliban supreme chief Mullah Omar. - AP