The Arabic of the English translation, Sirajuddin, is سراج الدين. According to one source, which provides the translation within Urdu, the name has the meaning light of the religion. The name Siraj, converted to Arabic, is سِرَاج, which similarly has the meaning of any object which produces light, or light itself, i.e. a cresset, lamp, a candle, or again, light itself, and accordingly, the Sun. Siraj is a Quranic name, in that it is used four times within the Quran, and the word is also used to describe Prophet Mohammad.
Haqqani
The Arabic conversion of Haqqani is حقانی, which means something or someone, just, fair-minded or impartial.
Haqqani has admitted planning the January 14, 2008 attack against the Serena Hotel in Kabul that killed six people, including American citizen Thor David Hesla.
Assassination attempt
Haqqani confessed his organization and direction of the planning of an attempt to assassinate Hamid Karzai, planned for April 2008.
Elementary school
His forces have been accused by coalition forces of carrying out the late-December 2008 bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan at an Afghan barracks near an Afghan elementary school that killed several schoolchildren, an Afghan soldier, and an Afghan guard; no coalition personnel were affected.
Journalist hostage
In November 2008 New York Times reporter David S. Rohde was kidnapped in Afghanistan. His initial captors are believed to have been solely interested in a ransom. Sirajuddin Haqqani is reported to have been Rohde's last captor prior to his escape.
Drones
Several reports indicated that Haqqani was targeted in a massive U.S. drone attack on February 2, 2010, but that he was not present in the area affected by the attack. In March 2010, Haqqani was described as one of the leaders on the "Taliban's Quetta Shura". In 2011, it was reported that the CIA had an opportunity to assassinate Haqqani, but did not as women and children were nearby. Debate about drone strikes often centers on who is killed: "militants" or civilians. In the absence of official information, casualty estimates provided by media fill the gap; however, the estimates are incomplete and may significantly undercount the extent of reported civilian deaths. A report by Columbia Law School's Human Right's Institute says, "The US government owes the public an accounting of who is really being killed."
Communications
A communication was posted, on the occasion of the election of Mullah A.M. Mansoor as the new leader of the Taliban, quoting Sirajuddin Haqqani:
Reward for capture
The U.S. government's Rewards for Justice Program is offering up to US$10 million in reward for information leading to Sirajuddin Haqqani's capture.
Reported coronavirus infection
On May 31, 2020, British Taliban expert Antonio Guistozzi told Foreign Policy that Sirajuddin Haqqani was infected with COVID-19. This infection also resulted in Sirajuddin being absent from the group's leadership mix.
Writings
In 2010 he released a 144-page Pashto-language book, a training manual entitled Military Lessons for the Benefit of the Mujahedeen, where he appears more radical than the Talibans as it shows influences from al-Qaida, supporting beheading and suicide bombings while legitimizing targeting the West, asking Muslims there to "blend in, shave, wear Western dress, be patient."
