"'It is considered a branch of the Afghan Taliban but operates independently and has a more diffuse command structure,' reports The Counter Extremism Project. 'After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Jalaluddin Haqqani formed an alliance with the Taliban and supported the growth of al-Qaeda. Even before Osama bin Laden moved his base of operations to Afghanistan, Haqqani took the extraordinary step of issuing communiqués and appeals for alliance with al-Qaeda affiliates across Africa.'"