In this Oct. 15, 2014 photo provided by Afghanistan's National  Directorate of Security (NDS), Anis Haqqani, a senior leader of  the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, poses for a picture in  Kabul, Afghanistan. Officials said Anis Haqqani and Hafiz Rashid,  a senior commander of the network, were arrested by the Afghan  intelligence service NDS in eastern Khost province. AP Photo/National Directorate of Security
    KABUL, Afghanistan -- Two senior leaders of    the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network have been arrested in    eastern Khost province, the Afghan intelligence service said    Thursday, claiming a major blow to the Pakistan-based militant    group.  
    Anis Haqqani, a brother of the network's leader, and Hafiz    Rashid, who allegedly helped equip suicide bombers and select    targets for attacks, were detained Tuesday in a special    operation, the National Directorate of Security said in a    statement.  
    "It is one of the biggest and most important arrests by NDS,    and has strategic impact on this network and can cause disorder    in its operations and weaken its fighting capabilities," the    statement said, without providing details. The Associated Press    could not immediately reach a Taliban spokesman for comment.  
    The statement said Anis Haqqani was an expert in computers and    use of propaganda through social networks, and played a key    role in the group's strategic decisions as a deputy to his    brother, network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani.  
    "He (Anis) was responsible for collecting and preparing funds    from Arabic countries to carry out operations of this network,"    the NDS statement said. Rashid was responsible for choosing    targets and providing equipment to suicide bombers in    Afghanistan, it said.  
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    The Haqqanis are allied with al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban    and are accused of staging many cross-border attacks from their    base in North Waziristan, Pakistan, including a 19-hour siege    at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in 2011.  
    Last November, Afghan intelligence and    militant sources told CBS News that a suspected U.S. drone    strike in northwest Pakistan killed senior Haqqani leader    Maulawi Ahmad Jan. Also last November, Nasiruddin Haqaani, the    deputy leader of the terror network, was     gunned down in what appeared to be an attack by rival    Muslim militants.  
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Afghanistan claims major blow to Haqqani network