Taliban Claims US Revoked $10M Bounty on Sirajuddin Haqqani

• The State Department has not provided immediate comments.
• The Taliban recently freed an American citizen.
• A U.S. official had “direct discussions” with the Taliban last week.

KABUL: The United States has rescinded a $10 million reward for information that could lead to the capture of Sirajuddin Haqqani, a prominent leader of the Taliban, according to a spokesperson from Afghanistan’s interior ministry.

The U.S. State Department did not respond right away to requests for a statement. However, the FBI continues to display the reward on its website, asserting that Sirajuddin is “believed to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against American and coalition forces in Afghanistan.”

This action follows the Taliban’s release of an American citizen who had been held in Afghanistan for more than two years. This development occurred on Thursday, subsequent to direct discussions between U.S. hostage negotiator Adam Boehler and Taliban representatives in Kabul, as reported by an informed source.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed on Thursday that Glezmann had been released.

This meeting in Kabul represents the highest-level direct engagement between the United States and the Taliban since Donald Trump assumed the presidency in January.

Boehler engaged with the Taliban’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, as noted in a statement from the Afghan foreign ministry.

“During this discussion, topics included the bilateral relations between Afghanistan and the U.S., prisoner releases, and consular services for Afghans residing in the United States,” stated the release.

The Haqqani Network is categorized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. due to its involvement in numerous attacks on both foreign and Afghan forces throughout the two-decade war in Afghanistan.

Furthermore, the FBI has sought Sirajuddin for questioning and initially offered a $10 million reward for intel leading to his capture.

Sirajuddin is the offspring of Jalauddin Haqqani, a Mujahideen leader who resisted Soviet forces in the 1980s and later allied with the Taliban, serving as a minister in their prior regime.