US drops $10m reward for Sirajuddin Haqqani, Taliban say

(Reuters): The United States has lifted a $10 million reward offer for information leading to the arrest of a major Taliban leader, Sirajuddin Haqqani, an Afghan interior ministry spokesperson said on Saturday.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to request for comment. The FBI still lists the reward on its website, saying Sirajuddin was "believed to have coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan".

The development comes on the heels of the Taliban’s releasing an American citizen, detained in Afghanistan for over two years, on Thursday following direct talks between US hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Taliban officials in Kabul, a source briefed on the release had stated.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement on Thursday confirming Glezmann's release.

Thursday's meeting in Kabul marked the highest-level direct talks between the United States and the Taliban since President Donald Trump came to power in January.

Boehler met with the Taliban administration's foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, according to a statement by the Afghan foreign ministry.

"During this meeting, discussions were held on Afghanistan-US bilateral relations, the release of prisoners, and the provision of consular services to Afghans in the United States," the statement said.

The Haqqani Network was designated a terror outfit by the US for allegedly carrying out multiple strikes on foreign and Afghan forces during the 20-year-long war in Afghanistan.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation also wanted Sirajuddin for questioning, with the US administration offering a reward of $10 million for information leading to his arrest.

He is the son of Mujahideen leader Jalauddin Haqqani, who fought against the erstwhile Soviet Union in the 1980s. Jalauddin later joined the Taliban and served as minister in their previous government.