The NATO-led military alliance in Afghanistan on Saturday said its forces had arrested a senior leader of the Haqqani terrorist network, reported dpa.
Security forces detained Hajji Mali Khan, the top Haqqani network commander in Afghanistan and uncle of Siraj and Badruddin Haqaani, the two sons of the Haqqani supreme leader, the alliance said in a statement.
The arrest was made in the south-eastern province of Paktia's Jani Khel district last week, it said, adding that Mali Khan was one of the highest ranking members of the network and a revered elder of the Haqqani clan.
US officials have blamed the Pakistan-based network for the brutal attacks on the US embassy in Kabul and a NATO military base that injured more than 70 foreign soldiers in Wardak province last month.
NATO called Khan's arrest a significant milestone in the disruption of the Haqqani network.