Via LWJ:
The Taliban has released a statement concerning the recent capture of two Haqqani Network leaders, claiming that the Afghan government has lied about the circumstances surrounding the raid that netted them. The Taliban also claims that the pair had recently visited the senior Taliban leaders freed from Guantanamo earlier this year.
The Taliban’s statement could not be independently verified.
On Oct. 16, the Afghan government announced the capture of Anas Haqqani, who is the youngest son of veteran jihadist leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, and Qari Abdul Rasheed Omari, the network’s military commander for southeastern Afghanistan. They were detained on Oct. 14.
Omari is the younger brother of Mohammad Nabi Omari, a senior Taliban official who was held at Guantanamo from late 2002 until May when he, along four other Taliban commanders held in US custody, were exchanged for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. The “Taliban Five,” as they’ve been dubbed in the US, were transferred to Qatar, where they are supposed to live for one year after their release.
The Taliban says in its statement that the younger Omari had recently met with his more infamous older brother in Qatar.
According to the Taliban, Anas Haqqani had been in Qatar as well. Anas Haqqani was captured after “he embarked on his first foreign visit to meet the freed Guantanamo detainees after an invitation by the family of Mawlawi Mohammad Nabi Omari (former Guantanamo detainee).