The U.S. government is offering a $30 million bounty for receiving information pertaining to five Haqqani Network leaders.
The Haqqani Network (pronounced hah-KAH'-nee) or HQN is a Pakistan-based militant group, which deploys asymmetric warfare tactics for fighting.
On Wednesday, Aug. 20, the U.S. Department of State's Rewards for Justice program revealed that it will be offering a cash reward of up to $5 million for getting information on the whereabouts of four of the members of the insurgent group - Aziz Haqqani, Khalil al-Rahman Haqqani, Yahya Haqqani and Abdul Rauf Zaki - who are relatives of the group leader. The Department has also increased the bounty from $5 million to $10 million for the ring leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is the son of HQN founder Jalaluddin Haqqani.
Sirajuddin has acknowledged that he was the brains behind the Jan. 2008 attack on Kabul's Serena Hotel, which killed six people. All five accused have been designated as Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the State Department.
On Sept. 7, 2012, the Secretary of State designated the HQN as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The HQN is said to have allied with the Afghan Taliban, as well as the al-Qaida. The extremist group also collaborates with other terrorist organizations.
"Based primarily in North Waziristan, Pakistan, HQN conducts cross-border attacks in eastern Afghanistan and Kabul and is considered the most lethal insurgent group targeting International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan personnel in Afghanistan," said The Department of State in a statement.
The Haqqani Network has also been accused of being the mastermind behind several staged high-profile attacks. The militant group allegedly conspires to generate cross-border stacks from their base in North Waziristan, Pakistan. The terrorist organization is accused of orchestrating the 19-hour attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the ISAF headquarters that took place in September 2011.
To get additional information on the designated global terrorists, one can head the Rewards for Justice website here.
