US may put ‘very big bounty’ on Taliban leaders, Secretary of State Rubio says

Published January 26, 2025
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington, US on January 21. — Reuters/File
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington, US on January 21. — Reuters/File

The US may place a “very big bounty” on the top leaders of the Taliban, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday, adding he was hearing that the Taliban held more American hostages than previously reported.

“Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported,” Rubio said in a post on social media platform X.

“If this is true, we will have to immediately place a very big bounty on their top leaders, maybe even bigger than the one we had on Bin Laden,” he added.

The post did not give further details or specify the number of Americans held by the Taliban.

Authorities in Kabul said in the past week that the United States freed an Afghan convicted by an American court on charges of drug smuggling and extremism in exchange for two US citizens held in Afghanistan.

Afghan officials said on Tuesday the man, Khan Mohammad, had landed in Kabul after being released. A spokesman for the Taliban administration confirmed that two Americans were released in the exchange.

One of the Americans released was Ryan Corbett, according to a statement by his family. Corbett had been in Taliban detention since 2022, according to the family. US media outlets said the other American released was named William McKenty.

The Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021 following a chaotic US withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor said on Thursday he had applied for arrest warrants for two Taliban leaders in Afghanistan including supreme spiritual leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of the persecution of women and girls.

Opinion

Editorial

A year later
Updated 08 Feb, 2025

A year later

A war of egos has been fought between a handful of individuals at the cost of the well-being of millions of ordinary Pakistanis.
Wheat decision
08 Feb, 2025

Wheat decision

THE federal decision to stop setting the minimum support price for wheat and cease the staple’s procurement...
Dhanmondi attack
08 Feb, 2025

Dhanmondi attack

HISTORY has shown that unless states deliver development and equal rights to all, disenfranchised people can target...
Depopulating Gaza
Updated 07 Feb, 2025

Depopulating Gaza

The least feasible "solution" is the Trumpian plan for Gaza’s ethnic cleansing and occupation, which is a non-starter.
‘Pause’ in US aid
07 Feb, 2025

‘Pause’ in US aid

THE impact of the Trump administration’s decision to ‘pause’ all US foreign aid programmes, especially those...
Mobilising opposition
07 Feb, 2025

Mobilising opposition

POLITICS makes strange bedfellows. There has not, for quite some time, been a guest list as intriguing as the one...