Badruddin was believed to have been responsible for controlling finances and communications of the Haqqani network, which was set up by his father Jalaluddin, a close associate of Osama bin Laden. Reports of his death in a drone strike in the Pakistani region of North Waziristan, part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) where the Haqqanis are headquartered, have circulated since August last year.