Manama: Bahrain has denied a report published on Sunday claiming that Anas Haqqani, the brother of the Taliban-affiliated group’s chief, and Hafiz Rashid, a military commander, were arrested in Bahrain.
A statement attributed to the Taliban said that Haqqani and Rashid “were arrested on October 12 in Bahrain by US forces, and taken to Qatar and the UAE before reaching Kabul.”
“The report is baseless, and lacks credibility,” the Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science general-director said in Manama.
“Competent authorities at Bahrain International Airport had doubts about the travel documents of the two passengers upon their arrival in Bahrain on Sunday. They were questioned and the standard legal measures were taken. They were returned on the same day aboard the next flight, GF525, to the airport from which they came, which is Qatar,” the statement said.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the Haqqanis, while acknowledging the Taliban leadership’s authority, operate independently.
The Haqqani network was reportedly behind many of the most spectacular attacks against foreign and Afghan targets in recent years.
The daily said that a senior Afghan security official had confirmed the US forces played no role in the arrests.
