US offers up to $5M reward for return of Afghan-American detained by Taliban
The U.S. government is offering $5 million for information about the whereabouts of an Afghan-American businessman last seen in Afghanistan in 2022.
Mahmood Shah Habibi, who worked for a telecommunications company in Kabul at the time of his disappearance, is thought to have been taken into custody by the Taliban.
'We have determined he has been disappeared, and he has not been heard from,' State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters during a press briefing on Tuesday. 'He was taken, and he has not been heard from since.'
According to the State Department, Habibi and his driver were taken from their vehicle near Habibi's home in Kabul City on Aug. 10, 2022, but the Taliban has not provided any updates about his location or condition. His family has spent the past two years publicly pleading for information about his disappearance.
'We initially kept it quiet and worked with the State Department in the hope that the Taliban would realize that my brother's arrest was a mistake,' Habibi's older brother wrote in an op-ed The Hill published last year. 'But here we are, and another year has passed and my brother is still not home.'
The U.S. military pulled troops out of Afghanistan in 2021 in a deal with the Taliban that ultimately led to the Islamic militant group gaining full control of the country.
The Taliban has not verified that it has Habibi in its custody.
'We know diplomats have met with the Taliban and asked them to move beyond these inexplicable protestations that they do not have him,' his brother wrote last August. 'If the Taliban will not acknowledge him, we hope that there are people who value human life who will come forward and share what they know.'
The U.S. Department of State's Rewards for Justice program's $5 million offer for information leading to Habibi's location, recovery, and safe return is aimed at spurring new leads, Bruce said.
People with information that may be helpful are encouraged to contact the State Department via Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp or the department's web tipline.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
A fugitive landlord is at large. Where does that leave dozens of his Ontario tenants?
Tenants of buildings owned by a wanted fugitive could be safe from eviction if the bank or a new landlord take over, a legal expert says. Gareth West, 45, is wanted by U.S. authorities for allegedly running a grandparent scam call centre in Montreal, defrauding American seniors out of more than $21 million US. He's been at large since an arrest warrant was issued for him in February. CBC News has previously reported that Gareth owns two apartment buildings — one in St. Thomas and the other in London. West bought another building, at 232 Elm Street in St. Thomas, in March 2022 but the three-storey walk-up was ordered shut by the fire department last November for severe fire code violations, resulting from botched renovations. It was foreclosed that same month before the bank took over in January, according to property records. "When the bank takes over, it's actually a good thing because if the landlord wasn't paying the utilities then the bank takes on the responsibility and things get restored," said Elena Dempsey, a lawyer at Elgin-Oxford Legal Clinic in St. Thomas. Tenants living at West's rentals at 14 Holland Street in St. Thomas and 308 Egerton Street in London say they've been left to deal with uncollected garbage piling up, power interruptions and no hot water. They've expressed concerns about what comes next in the absence of their landlord. Both cities said services are restored at the apartments and they're working with the respective mortgage lenders. What happens next? The next step would involve the mortgage lender, which could be the bank, seizing the properties and taking ownership until its sold to another buyer. However, tenants would have protections against evictions under the Residential Tenancies Act. "The only way the bank would seize the property is if the landlord goes into default on the mortgage," Dempsey said. "We have in the past had times where the landlord can't pay utilities, or the landlord is unable to maintain the payments on the property and the bank takes over, which is more frequent." With West on the run, the lender can get an order from Superior Court allowing it to take ownership, but that process could take several months. Residents will then have to prove they are legitimate tenants, after which they'd receive something called a Notice of Attornment and their rent would be paid directly to the bank from the date of the notice. Having the bank as their landlord can be a boon for those living at the buildings because it can guarantee stability in services, said Dempsey. If another person or company purchases the building, they become the new landlord and cannot evict tenants without valid cause, she added. "Only under the act can you evict, you cannot just say 'Get out people, I'm the new owner,'" Dempsey said. "If the new person takes over and one of the tenants do something that give rise to eviction, potentially yes, they could be evicted, just like they can be evicted anywhere else." The landlord could apply to demolish the building or convert it for other use but they're required to provide at least 120 days notice and tenants can contest that at the Landlord and Tenant Board — another lengthy process. Municipalities limited in authority Municipalities are limited in their jurisdiction over private properties, said St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston. However, his city and London have issued bylaw notices which gives them authority to address violations such as garbage collection, and issues with water and electricity. "Not having trash picked up is not likely enough of a property standards but when we get water and electricity shut off, then we can step in after a disconnect has happened to get it turned back on. We cover those bills and put them on the landlord's [property] taxes," said Preston. "The landlord has certain obligations, even if he is an absentee landlord, and it appears right now things are back on and tenants are being well served but we will make sure we get involved where we need to." With West at large, the property tax expenses become a lien on the buildings and would prevent future sales until that's paid, said Preston, adding: "It gives us some power to be able to collect from anybody who might purchase the building in the future." St. Thomas officials managed to find new housing for all tenants at West's Elm Street rental, said Preston. Both cities said they will work to help relocate tenants in the event of an eviction, but that remains up to the mortgage lender or new owner. Some tenants CBC News spoke to said they won't be paying rent until the situation is resolved, with some saying efforts to make their payments have been unsuccessful and deposits weren't accepted, though others said the money was withdrawn from their accounts. Dempsey's advice is to put money aside until there's a resolution. Tenants could pursue the new landlord for violations of tenant protections such as loss of services, interference with reasonable enjoyment, emotional distress and other issues. "It's not a good idea to withhold your rent. Any court does not look favourably upon self-help remedies," she said. "Let's say the tenants pooled all their money together and paid the hydro bill, that might be a good argument as to why they shouldn't pay their rent but I'm not hearing that that's what they've done." West and 25 others are facing wire fraud charges in the U.S. for the alleged grandparent scam, and he could spend 40 years in jail, if convicted.
San Francisco Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump defends US strikes on Iran as intel assessment stirs debate
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that U.S. strikes delivered a crushing blow to Iran's nuclear program despite a preliminary American intelligence assessment suggesting that the assault inflicted only a marginal setback. 'This was a devastating attack, and it knocked them for a loop,' Trump said as his administration deployed a phalanx of top officials to defend his claims that Iran's nuclear program was 'completely and fully obliterated.' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the leaked intelligence assessment, which said Iran suffered a delay of only a few months, was 'preliminary' and 'low confidence.' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the officials who disclosed the findings are 'professional stabbers.' The White House pointed to a statement from the Israel Atomic Energy Commission that said Iran faced a setback of 'many years.' Drawing reliable conclusions about the impact of the U.S. strikes is difficult, making the issue a breeding ground for competing claims that could determine how American voters view Trump's risky decision to join Israel's attacks on Iran. Also at stake are Trump's next steps in the Middle East, where diplomatic efforts could be required to prevent Iran from rebuilding its nuclear program. Iran maintains that its atomic ambitions are for peaceful purposes, while U.S. and Israeli leaders have described the country's nuclear program as the precursor to obtaining a nuclear weapon. One of the targets of the U.S. attack was Fordo, where nuclear infrastructure is buried deep underground. The Israeli commission said in a statement that the bombing 'rendered the enrichment facility inoperable.' The statement was distributed by the White House and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "The American strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other parts of Iran's military nuclear program, have "set back Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years,' the statement said. In addition, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera that there was significant damage from U.S. bombers. 'Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that's for sure,' he said. The episode has triggered some of Trump's longstanding vendettas against leaks and intelligence officials, who he has often viewed as a part of a 'deep state' dedicated to undermining his agenda. He also lashed out at media outlets that reported on the classified assessment, describing them as 'scum" and 'disgusting.' Trump said questioning the effectiveness of the strikes was disrespectful to the military, which flew stealth bombers halfway around the world to attack the nuclear facilities with weapons designed to penetrate deep underground. The reports, he said, were 'very unfair to the pilots, who risked their lives for our country." One critical question is whether enriched uranium, which could be developed into fuel for a nuclear bomb, was moved out of facilities before the U.S. strikes. 'I believe they didn't have a chance to get anything out, because we acted fast,' Trump said. He added that "it's very hard to move that kind of material, and very dangerous.'
Newsweek
20 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Plan To Sell 250 Million Acres of Public Land Suffers Major Setback
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The proposal to sell millions of acres of federal land has been voted out of the GOP's tax and spending bill on the basis it could go against the chamber's rules. Senate Energy Committee Chairman Mike Lee had pushed for the sale of more than 2 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land over the next five years as a way of generating federal income to help cover sweeping tax cuts. However, the plan was met with opposition by some in the Senate during their deliberations of President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill." Newsweek has contacted Lee outside regular hours via email for comment. Chairman Mike Lee during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in the Dirksen building on June 18, 2025, in Washington. Chairman Mike Lee during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in the Dirksen building on June 18, 2025, in Washington. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Why It Matters The U.S. government controls about 28 percent of all the land in the country. Selling federal land to provide more affordable housing for Americans is something Trump has advocating for, but conservation advocacy groups have criticized such plans, arguing that little of the federal land for sale is suitable for housing. There is also concern among conversation groups about what the sale of federal land means for wildlife and its habitat in those areas—a concern that could become more pressing now that the Trump administration has said it will rescind a 2001 rule that prevented logging on national forest lands. What To Know Despite the proposal being struck off the bill, which would have seen millions of acres of land sold across 11 Western states, Lee has made it clear he will not yet accept defeat, that he was "just getting started." In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday night, he wrote: "Housing prices are crushing families and keeping young Americans from living where they grew up. We need to change that." Lee said that going forward, he would significantly reduce the amount of BLM land in the bill to include only land that is within 5 miles of population centers. He said he would establish "freedom zones to ensure these lands benefit American families." He also wrote that farmers, ranchers and recreational users come first and promised to protect them. "Yes, the Byrd Rule limits what can go in the reconciliation bill, but I'm doing everything I can to support President Trump and move this forward," he said. While Lee has been planning his next moves to push his proposal forward, conservation groups have been celebrating the Senate's decision. "This is a victory for the American public, who were loud and clear: Public lands belong in public hands, for current and future generations alike,'' said Tracy Stone-Manning, president of The Wilderness Society. "Our public lands are not for sale." Meanwhile, Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of the nonprofit Trust for Public Land, said the ruling was "an important victory in the fight to protect America's public lands from short-sighted proposals that would have undermined decades of bipartisan work to protect, steward and expand access to the places we all share." What People Are Saying Patrick Parenteau, a professor of law and senior fellow for climate policy at Vermont Law and Graduate School, told Newsweek: "The Senate Parliamentarian ruled the proposal out of order, but the Senate has not yet voted on the Reconciliation bill. Senator Lee said he intends to revise the proposal to exclude Forest Service lands and narrow the scope for BLM lands and give local communities more say. That might not be enough to satisfy the parliamentarian. "The repeal of the Roadless Rule would open 58 million acres of Forest Service land to logging, mining and oil and gas development. These are remote areas that would be very expensive to develop. Repealing the rule requires compliance with several federal laws and will be challenged in court. These roadless areas have a lot of bipartisan political support among outdoor recreationists and local communities. I predict a ferocious fight to preserve them." Senator Mike Lee, on X on Tuesday: "I'm still listening. I'm working closely with the Trump administration to ensure that any federal land sales serve the American people—not foreign governments, not the Chinese Communist Party, and not massive corporations looking to pad their portfolios. This land must go to American families. Period." Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee: "Democrats will not stand idly by while Republicans attempt to circumvent the rules of [budget] reconciliation in order to sell off public lands to fund tax breaks for billionaires." Senator Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat: [My constituents] "don't want these lands to be luxury resorts or golf courses." What Happens Next The Senate will continue to deliberate over the bill and proposals until the self-imposed deadline of July 4. This story contains reporting from the Associated Press.
