The Haqqani network, a brutal Taliban-linked militant group based in Pakistan, was officially designated a terrorist organization by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday. In a detailed report delivered to Congress, Clinton indicated that the Haqqanis, a Pashtun tribe who run an organization “comparable to a mafia group,” meet the criteria to be considered a terrorist organization. A rising terror threat for the past year, the group has been blamed for recent high-profile attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan. A formal designation by Congress will likely happen in the next few days.
