Rubio claims the Taliban is holding more American hostages than previously reported.
The United States may offer a “very big bounty” on the top leaders of the Taliban, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who suggested that the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been publicly disclosed.
“Just hearing the Taliban is holding more American hostages than has been reported,” Rubio said in a post on the social media platform X. He added, “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.”
The post did not provide further details or specify how many Americans the Taliban is holding.
In recent developments, authorities in Kabul revealed that the United States had secured the release of two American citizens held in Afghanistan by freeing an Afghan national, Khan Mohammad, who was convicted in the U.S. for drug smuggling and extremism charges. Afghan officials confirmed that Mohammad had arrived in Kabul following his release.
One of the Americans freed was Ryan Corbett, according to a statement from his family. Corbett had been detained by the Taliban since 2022. U.S. media outlets reported that the other American released was William McKenty.
The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021 after the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces, marking the end of a 20-year conflict.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor announced that arrest warrants had been sought for two senior Taliban leaders, including the group’s supreme spiritual leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of persecuting women and girls in Afghanistan.
