Rubio threatens bounties on Taliban leaders over detained Americans

WASHINGTON — 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio connected Saturday threatened bounties connected the heads of Afghanistan's Taliban leaders, sharply escalating the code arsenic helium said much Americans whitethorn beryllium detained successful the state than antecedently thought.

The menace comes days aft the Afghan Taliban authorities and the United States swapped prisoners successful 1 of the last acts of erstwhile U.S. President Joe Biden.

The caller apical U.S. diplomat issued the harsh informing via societal media, successful a rhetorical benignant strikingly akin to his boss, President Donald Trump.

"Just proceeding the Taliban is holding much American hostages than has been reported," Rubio wrote connected X.

"If this is true, we volition person to instantly spot a VERY BIG bounty connected their apical leaders, possibly adjacent bigger than the 1 we had connected bin Laden," helium said, referring to the al-Qaida person killed by U.S. forces successful 2011.

Rubio did not picture who the different Americans whitethorn be, but determination person agelong been accounts of missing Americans whose cases were not formally taken up by the U.S. authorities arsenic wrongful detentions.

In the woody with the Biden administration, the Taliban freed the best-known American detained successful Afghanistan, Ryan Corbett, who had been surviving with his household successful the state and was seized successful August 2022.

Also freed was William McKenty, an American astir whom small accusation has been released.

The United States successful crook freed Khan Mohammed, who was serving a beingness condemnation successful a California prison.

Mohammed was convicted of trafficking heroin and opium into the United States and was accused of seeking rockets to termination U.S. troops successful Afghanistan.

The United States offered a bounty of $25 cardinal for accusation starring to the seizure oregon sidesplitting of Osama bin Laden soon aft the September 11, 2001, panic attacks, with Congress aboriginal authorizing the caput of authorities to connection up to $50 million.

No 1 is believed to person collected the bounty for bin Laden, who was killed successful a U.S. raid successful Pakistan.

Harder enactment connected Taliban?

Trump is known for brandishing threats successful his speeches and connected societal media. But helium is besides a professional of U.S. subject interventions overseas and successful his 2nd inaugural code Monday said helium aspired to beryllium a "peacemaker."

In his archetypal term, the Trump medication broke a then-taboo and negotiated straight with the Taliban -- with Trump adjacent proposing a acme with the then-insurgents astatine the Camp David statesmanlike retreat -- arsenic helium brokered a woody to propulsion U.S. troops and extremity America's longest war.

Biden carried retired the agreement, with the Western-backed authorities swiftly collapsing and the Taliban retaking powerfulness successful August 2021 conscionable aft U.S. troops left.

The scenes of chaos successful Kabul brought beardown disapproval of Biden, particularly erstwhile 13 American troops and scores of Afghans died successful a termination bombing astatine the city's airport.

The Biden medication had low-level contacts with Taliban authorities representatives but made small headway.

Some members of Trump's Republican Party criticized adjacent the constricted U.S. engagements with the Taliban authorities and particularly the humanitarian assistance authorized by the Biden administration, which insisted the wealth was for urgent needs successful the impoverished state and ne'er routed done the Taliban.

Rubio connected Friday froze astir each U.S. assistance astir the world.

No state has officially recognized the Taliban government, which has imposed terrible restrictions connected women and girls nether its ultra-conservative mentation of Islam.

The International Criminal Court's main authoritative connected Thursday said helium was seeking apprehension warrants for elder Taliban leaders implicit the persecution of women.