Trump Govt offering $5m reward for info on Pakistan militant leaders

The State Department has offered a $5 million reward for information on Pakistani Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah in the latest U.S. effort to pressure militants in the country. The announcement came a day after Fazlullah’s son was reported killed in a U.S. drone strike in Afghanistan. Fazlullah is the leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan said to be responsible for numerous terrorist acts against Pakistani and U.S. interests including a failed attempt to detonate an explosive device in New York’s Times Square in 2010. Fazlullah is also blamed for the 2012 shooting of Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, now a Nobel peace laureate. Additionally, the department offered Thursday $3 million each for information on two other Pakistani militant leaders, Abdul Wali and Mangal Bagh. [caption id=“attachment_4138261” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] Below is the full text of the US State Department statement: The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program is offering rewards for information leading to the identification or location of three key leaders associated with the terrorist organization Tehrik–e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and affiliated factions. The Department is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information on TTP leader Maulana Fazlullah, and up to $3 million each for information on Abdul Wali and Mangal Bagh. Maulana Fazlullah is the leader of the TTP, a terrorist organization that has claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist acts against Pakistani and U.S. interests, including the failed attempt by Faisal Shahzad to detonate an explosive device in New York City’s Times Square on May 1, 2010. Under his leadership, the TTP has also claimed responsibility for the December 16, 2014, attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan in which gunmen killed 148 people, including 132 students. Fazlullah also is responsible for the June 2012, beheading of 17 Pakistani soldiers, and the October 9, 2012, shooting of Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai. In 2015, the Department designated Fazlullah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224, which freezes all of his assets based in the United States or in possession or control of U.S. persons. Abdul Wali is the leader of Jamaat ul-Ahrar (JUA), a militant faction affiliated with TTP. Under Wali’s leadership, JUA has staged multiple attacks in the region targeting civilians, religious minorities, military personnel, and law enforcement, and was responsible for the killing of two Pakistani employees of the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar in early March 2016. Mangal Bagh is the leader of Lashkar-e-Islam, a militant faction affiliated with TTP. Under his leadership, LeI operatives have attacked NATO convoys. His group generates revenue from drug trafficking, smuggling, kidnapping, and collection of “taxes” on transit trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In September 2007, the Government of Pakistan announced a reward offer of about $60,000 for the capture of, or information leading to the arrest of, Mangal Bagh. Each of these individuals is believed to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of the United States and its nationals. In addition to opposing the Pakistani military, one of TTP’s stated goals is the expulsion of Coalition troops from Afghanistan. The group has demonstrated a close alliance with al-Qa’ida, and, since 2008, has also repeatedly publicly threatened to attack the U.S. homeland. More information about these reward offers is located on the Rewards for Justice website at www.rewardsforjustice.net. We encourage anyone with information on these individuals to contact the Rewards for Justice office via the website, e-mail (info@rewardsforjustice.net), phone (1-800-877-3927 in North America), or mail (Rewards for Justice, Washington, D.C., 20520-0303, USA). Individuals may also contact the Regional Security Office at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. All information will be kept strictly confidential. The Rewards for Justice program is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service. Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid in excess of $145 million to more than 90 people who provided actionable information that helped bring terrorists to justice or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Rewards4Justice.