The move came hours after Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th President of the United States.
Kabul: The Taliban government in Afghanistan has announced the release of two American citizens from prison in return for an Afghan fighter held in the United States. The deal was reportedly facilitated by Qatar, AFP news agency reported.
"An Afghan fighter Khan Mohammed imprisoned in America has been released in exchange for American citizens and returned to the country," the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement. Mohammad had been serving a life sentence in California after being arrested nearly two decades ago in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP two US nationals had been released, declining to provide any further details on the exchange.
The family of US citizen Ryan Corbett, who was detained by the Taliban in 2022, confirmed he was released and expressed "overwhelming gratitude" that he was coming home, the news agency said.
William McKenty was the second American detainee who was released by the Taliban. His family requested the US government for privacy in his case. The development came a day after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, whose administration negotiated a deal with the Taliban that led to the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the Taliban's return to power.
The New York Times said two other Americans remain in detention in Afghanistan, former airline mechanic George Glezmann and naturalized American Mahmood Habibi.
Following Trump's election victory in November, the Taliban had expressed hopes for a "new chapter" in relations with the United States. The Taliban government labeled the prisoner exchange as a positive example of resolving issues through dialogue and extended gratitude to Qatar for its "effective role" in the deal. "The Islamic Emirate views positively those actions of the United States that contribute to the normalization and expansion of relations between the two countries," the statement added.
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