A family and a terror group

What is the Haqqani network?STORY HIGHLIGHTS The Haqqani Network was started by an Afghan fighter who battled Soviets in the '80s
The Haqqani patriarch used his reputation as a soldier and started the network, experts say
The father reportedly had at least nine children, one of whom is likely running the group
U.S. military officials have described the son as particularly brutal (CNN) -- A senior U.S. official is blaming the Haqqani Network for this week's attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. If the group claims credit, it will be only the latest attack on its resume of terror.

The Haqqani Network, based in Waziristan, a tribal area of Pakistan, is aligned with the Taliban and al Qaeda and is considered one of the most significant threats to stability in Afghanistan.

U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said he believes the Haqqani Network was behind the nearly daylong gun battle at the embassy this week. But Crocker said that the attack wouldn't change plans for the U.S. to draw down troops from the country by the end of 2014.

Since 2001, global security experts have said the Haqqani Network's calling card has been bold and complex suicide bombing attacks. For a more detailed analysis, West Point's Combating Terrorism Center lays out the Haqqani group and its objectives.

The Haqqanis are a family -- chiefly run over the years by patriarch Jalaluddin Haqqani, who would be in his 60s (if he's still alive, which is unclear). Jalaluddin's sons Salahuddin and Sirajuddin have reportedly taken more prominent roles in recent years.

Salahuddin told a journalist that there are nine siblings in the family, according to the Jane's security site. Six of the siblings were born to an Afghan wife, and three to an Arab wife.

Sirajuddin is most likely leading the group, several security reports say. He is considered the most radicalized and violent in the family.

"Siraj is a brutal criminal murderer..." Gen. Jeffrey Scholesser, outgoing commander of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division in eastern Afghanistan, told Jane's security analysis.

Another U.S. military source, which Jane's did not name, described Sirajuddin as "very much into the global extremism of al Qaeda...He has got those ties

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