Mullah Sangeen Zadran, who is also known as Fateh, serves as a senior lieutenant and military commander under Siraj Haqqani. He is the military commander in Paktika province and is known to conduct military operations throughout eastern Afghanistan.
The US military said Sangeen plans and coordinates the movement of al Qaeda senior leaders and hundreds of their foot soldiers from Pakistan to Afghanistan through the Spreah district. Most recently, Sangeen kidnapped a US soldier in Paktika province.
The US military targeted Sangeen one month ago during a raid on what was described as an “enemy encampment” in the Wor Mamay district in the eastern province of Paktika near the Pakistani border. US and Afghan forces fought a pitched battle at the Haqqani Network fort, which was reinforced with fighting positions, bunkers, and tunnels. During the assault, 29 Haqqani Network fighters, including six suicide bombers, were killed, but Sangeen slipped the net.
Sangeen was also the target of a US Predator airstrike in South Waziristan in mid-June. Sangeen, Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud, and his deputy Qari Hussain Mehsud, were targeted at the funeral of a mid-level Taliban commander in South Waziristan. More than 83 Taliban and civilians were reported killed in the strike.
In December 2007, the US military reported that Sangeen was killed during a raid, but the US later found out he survived the attack. The US military had previously offered a $20,000 reward for information that could lead to his capture.
