US announces $10 million reward for Mehsud and Haqqani

WASHINGTON: The US has offered up to $10 million in rewards for information on Pakistani terrorist leaders Baitullah Mehsud, mastermind behind the assassination of former Premier Benazir Bhutto, and Sirajuddin Haqqani.

It also announced another $1 million award for Al Qaeda terrorist leader Abu Yahya al-Libi, now believed to be hiding inside Pakistan or Afghanistan.

The US has awarded $5 million each for Baitullah Mehsud, the senior leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and Haqqani, a senior leader of the Haqqani terrorist network founded by his father Jalaladin Haqqani, State Department Deputy Acting Spokesman Gordon Duguid said in a statement.

"Mehsud is regarded as a key al-Qaida facilitator in the tribal areas of South Waziristan in Pakistan," he said.

"Pakistani authorities believe that the January 2007 suicide attack against the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad was staged by militants loyal to Mehsud. Press reports also have linked Mehsud to the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the deaths of other innocent civilians," Duguid said.

He said during an interview with an American news organisation, Haqqani admitted planning the January 14, 2008 attack against the Serena Hotel in Kabul that killed six people, including an American citizen.

Haqqani also admitted to having planned the April 2008 assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Duguid said.

"He has coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against US and Coalition forces in Afghanistan. He is believed to be located in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan," he said.

Announcing a $1 million award for Al-Libi, a Libyan citizen and an Islamic scholar, Duguid in a separate statement said he is a key motivator in the global jihadi movement and his messages convey a clear threat to US persons or property worldwide.

He was captured by authorities in 2002 and imprisoned at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. "Al-Libi escaped in July 2005, and has since appeared in a number of propaganda videos, using his religious training to influence people and legitimize the actions of al-Qaida," Duguid said.

In addition, Mehsud has stated his intention to attack the US. He has conducted cross-border attacks against US forces in Afghanistan, and poses a clear threat to American persons and interests in the region, Duguid said, adding that the US is determined to bring him to justice.

The award has been announced under US's Rewards for Justice Program. Since its inception in 1984, it has paid over $80 million to over 50 persons who have provided credible information that has resulted in capture or death of terrorists or prevented acts of terrorism.