The United States Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, expressed his displeasure with the new Taliban government, specifically the designation of Sirajuddin Haqqani as the Minister of the Interior, whom Washington considers a wanted terrorist.

According to a Pentagon official in the United States Department of Defense, in the past hours US military commanders have sent Washington alerts to the Taliban that Al Qaeda should not be dealt with, or provided with any assistance or support.

The United States official, who preferred to withhold his name, asserted that there was "a consensus in Washington, in the foreign, intelligence and security services, and under the guidance of President Joe Biden's administration, that the United States reserves the right to target terrorists and radical fundamentalist groups, militarily anywhere in the world, namely Afghanistan."

A day after the Taliban announced the appointment of Haqqani as Minister of the Interior in the Business Administration Government, an official of the Pentagon said that the security and military services in Washington regarded Haqqani as a "legitimate target in the fight against terrorism."

In the meantime, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation has raised the reward for anyone who provides information to help arrest Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani network that the US classifies as a terrorist organization.

The FBI explained that Haqqani is wanted for questioning in connection with the January 2008 attack on a hotel in the Afghan capital Kabul, which killed 6 people, including a US citizen.

The FBI also believes that Haqqani "coordinated and participated in cross-border attacks against the United States and coalition forces in Afghanistan, and was involved in planning the assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2008."