Taliban to reward suicide bombers' families with cash, land

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The Taliban have promised plots of land to the family members of suicide bombers who targeted U.S. and Afghan forces, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry tweeted Tuesday. 

The tweet, posted in English, echoed an announcement made the previous day by acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, who offered clothes and roughly $112 to dozens of male family members of "martyred" bombers who died for Islamic "jihad and sacrifices."

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The spokesman, Saeed Khosty, also said Haqqani considered the dead bombers "heroes of Islam and the country."

"Now you and I must refrain from betraying the aspirations of our martyrs," Haqqani reportedly said. 

The acting interior minister’s comments suggest extreme aggression could see a resurgence in the now Taliban-ruled country — a move at odds with previous assurances following the fall of Kabul in August. 

The State Department condemned the move by the Taliban and said the location of the event was "particularly offensive" as it was the site of the 2011 and 2018 bombings by the Taliban, during which American citizens were killed. 

"Siraj Haqqani is a designated terrorist for a reason – he has long played a role in particularly heinous terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, in Afghanistan," a spokesperson told Fox News.  "This is a step in the wrong direction for the Taliban. Responsible movements do not endorse terrorism.

"Now is the time to turn the page, and we call on the Taliban to unequivocally renounce terrorism and abandon terrorist tactics," the spokesman added.

The U.S. and its Western allies have warned the Taliban that they will not recognize its government as a legitimate legislative body should the Taliban allow terrorism and extremism to flourish. 

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The Taliban leaders' meeting at a Kabul hotel Monday was the latest in a series of steps taken by the group to seemingly push Afghanistan back to a radicalization not seen since 2001.   

The United Nations has predicted the entire country could soon be in a dire economic situation and will require additional humanitarian support. 

The U.S. has frozen billions of dollars in Afghan assets following the Taliban takeover in accordance with U.S. sanction policies. 

International monetary organizations have additionally paused as much as 75% of all fiscal disbursements the previous Afghan government relied on, the Associated Press reported. 

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The U.S. has evacuated upward of 124,000 Americans, Afghan allies and at-risk Afghans since the fall of Kabul. 

The State Department has said it will continue to evacuate individuals still stuck in Afghanistan. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.