By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. could place a “very huge bounty” on the highest leaders of the Taliban, Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned on Saturday, including he was listening to that the Taliban held extra American hostages than beforehand reported.
“Simply listening to the Taliban is holding extra American hostages than has been reported,” Rubio mentioned in a put up on social media platform X.
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“If that is true, we should instantly place a VERY BIG bounty on their prime leaders, perhaps even greater than the one we had on Bin Laden,” he added.
The put up didn’t give additional particulars or specify the variety of Individuals held by the Taliban.
Authorities in Kabul mentioned previously week that the US freed an Afghan convicted by an American court docket on costs of drug smuggling and extremism in alternate for 2 U.S. residents held in Afghanistan.
Afghan officers mentioned on Tuesday the person, Khan Mohammad, had landed in Kabul after being launched. A spokesman for the Taliban administration confirmed that two Individuals have been launched within the alternate.
One of many Individuals launched was Ryan Corbett, in keeping with a press release by his household. Corbett had been in Taliban detention since 2022, in keeping with the household. U.S. media retailers mentioned the opposite American launched was named William McKenty.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021 following a chaotic U.S. withdrawal from the nation after 20 years of conflict.
The Worldwide Felony Court docket prosecutor mentioned on Thursday he had utilized for arrest warrants for 2 Taliban leaders in Afghanistan together with supreme non secular chief Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of the persecution of girls and ladies.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Modifying by Chizu Nomiyama)
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