Anything you can do, we can do better, say Taleban

22 Nov, 2001 10:45 AM2 mins to read

The Taleban upped their defiance of the United States and its allies yesterday by posting a $US50 million ($124 million) reward for the capture of President George W. Bush.

Just days after US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced a reward of $US25 million ($ 62 million) for information leading to the whereabouts Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda chiefs, the Taleban head of security doubled that bounty for Bush.

Mohammad Saeed Haqqani said bin Laden could not have carried out the attacks in New York and Washington.

India's Urdu daily newspaper Inquilab quoted him as saying: "Osama does not have the means to carry out such acts.

"If the rich Americans have offered $25 million for Osama we, will give $50 million to anyone who can capture Bush for us, in spite of being a poor country."

Haqqani claimed all good Muslims would reject the opportunity to cash in on the millions offered by the US.

"All Muslims will side with their faith. No offer can tempt us."

Rumsfeld said yesterday that the bounty offered for bin Laden could be divided widely among those who helped bring him in.

"My guess is what would happen is some person, some human being somewhere, would have a scrap of information and they would go to the leader, the tribal chief for that activity, and they then would see what they think about that and then they might move that piece of information someplace else," he said.

"By the time you're through, the amounts of money that would be spread would vary depending on the information received. I don't think we have to worry about whether they'll find an incentive."

- AGENCIES

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