S8 Ep183: The Haqqani Security Partner and the Ignored Sniper Warning: Colleagues Jerry Dunleavy and James Hasson explain that the US relied on the Haqqani network—suicide bombing experts with ties to Al-Qaeda—for security, revealing that a sniper team identified R

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John Batchelor

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🗓️ 13 December 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

The Haqqani Security Partner and the Ignored Sniper Warning: Colleagues Jerry Dunleavy and James Hasson explain that the US relied on the Haqqani network—suicide bombing experts with ties to Al-Qaeda—for security, revealing that a sniper team identified the likely ISIS-K bomber based on specific intelligence but was denied engagement authority by leadership, leading to the deadly attack hours later.

1950 KABUL

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm John Batchel with Jerry Dunleavy and James Hassan. The new book is Cabell. The airfield is surrounded by
0:07.7	people who are desperate to leave Afghanistan. At the same time, the airfield is surrounded by the
0:14.8	Taliban, who are partners, so called, by the State Department and the White House back in Washington.
0:23.2	The Taliban has a very strong relationship with al-Qaeda.
0:29.0	It has an unclear relationship with ISIS, ISIS-K, called in the region.
0:34.8	Why this matters now is because it's unsolved.
0:39.4	We're going to go to Abigate and what happens the afternoon of August 26th. But it's important to prepare the ground here.
0:50.1	And Jerry, I come to you. You are a principal and you are an investigator of this matter and it's ongoing.
0:56.5	We need to understand what we know so far about the Taliban, their relationship to ISIS K,
1:04.8	and especially the Haqqqqani network, which my understanding is, is a stand-in for the Al-Qaeda group now today. But also,
1:15.3	there's evidence that they worked with when it suited them. ISIS-K. Who were the Haqqanis?
1:21.2	And where were the Haqqqanis during this evacuation, especially on the 26th of August? Where
1:27.0	were they, Jerry?
1:29.1	Great question. So I am an investigator on the House Foreign Affairs Committee,
1:33.5	looking into the Afghanistan withdrawal. I'll just note that I'm just here as the author,
1:38.2	the co-author of this book. But the relationship that the Haqani Network had with all these groups is very important.
1:46.2	So the Haqqani's are a key force inside the Taliban.
1:53.7	They also have a longstanding relationship with the Pakistani intelligence services, the ISI.
2:01.4	On top of that, the Haqqqqaeda have a very long relationship with al-Qaeda as well.
2:08.6	And Sarajdin Haqqqani, who's the head of the Haqqani network, who is the top Hakani commander in 2021, and who is a top member of the Taliban government today,
2:23.1	he has very close relationship with al-Qaeda and by some national security experts is considered to be
2:29.2	essentially a member of al-Qaeda as well. But by the way, when we killed Iman al-Zawahri in 2022 in Kabul, the number two,
	...

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