The US State Department placed a $5 million reward for help locating the leader of the Pakistani Taliban on Thursday, linked to bloody attacks in Pakistan and the 2010 attempted Times Square car bombing in New York. The State Department posted the reward for information leading to the identification or location of Maulana Fazlullah, the head of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militant group (TTP). It also offered $3 million each for two other Islamic militants associated with the TTP: Abdul Wali, leader of Jamaat ul-Ahrar, and Mangal Bagh, the leader of Lashkar-e-Islam.
The State Department said the TTP has "demonstrated a close alliance with al-Qaeda" and the three pose a threat to the security of the United States.