US offers $200,000 reward for Taliban, al-Qaida leaders in Afghanistan

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The US military has launched a new "Most Wanted" campaign, offering rewards of up to US$200,000 for information leading to the capture of a dozen Taliban and al-Qaida leaders. Posters and billboards are being put up around eastern Afghanistan with the names and pictures of the 12, with reward amounts ranging from US$20,000 to US$200,000. "We're trying to get more visibility on these guys like the FBI did with the mob," said Lt. Col. Rob Pollack, a US officer at the main American base in Bagram. "They operate the same way the mob did - they stay in hiding." The list does not include internationally known names who already have large price tags on their heads like al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden - who has evaded US capture since 2001 despite a $25 million bounty - or Taliban leader Mullah Omar with a US$10 million reward. Instead, the list is composed of local insurgent cell leaders responsible for roadside and suicide bomb attacks.