Washington (TDI): Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that the US could impose a very hefty bounty on the head of Afghan Taliban leadership.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Rubio said he had learned that the Taliban was holding more American hostages than previously reported.
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“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,” Rubio added.
He did not share details about the number of hostages being held by the Taliban.
The development comes days after the Afghan Taliban said the US authorities released an Afghan citizen arrested on the charges of drug smuggling in exchange for two US citizens held hostage in Afghanistan.
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Khan Mohammad had landed in Kabul on Tuesday after being released. One of the two US citizens released in exchange was named Ryan Corbett, who had been held hostage in 2022.
According to the American media, the other person released was named William McKenty.
The Taliban swept to power after the withdrawal of the US forces from the country in 2021.