The Taliban announce the release of two American citizens in a prisoner exchange deal | News
The Taliban government in Afghanistan says the American citizens were released in exchange for an Afghan man serving a life sentence in California.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan has announced the release of detained Americans as part of a prisoner exchange agreement with the United States.
The Taliban foreign ministry in Kabul did not name the American citizens or say how many were freed, but said they were exchanged for Khan Mohammad, who was captured in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province two decades ago and is serving a life sentence in a California prison.
“After extensive and productive negotiations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the United States of America, an agreement was reached to facilitate the release of an Afghan mujahid, Khan Mohammad, from an American prison in exchange for the release of American citizens,” the Afghan said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday in a post on X.
After extensive and productive negotiations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the United States of America, an agreement was reached to facilitate the release of an Afghan mujahid, Khan Mohammad, from an American prison in exchange for the release of American citizens. pic.twitter.com/fw0QgQztZ0
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Afghanistan (@MoFA_Afg) January 21, 2025
The Associated Press news agency quoted the family of Ryan Corbett, one of the Americans reportedly part of the swap deal, as saying their hearts were filled with “overwhelming gratitude for helping his life and bringing him home after what has been a most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives”.
Corbett, who was living in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the fall of the US-backed government in 2021, was arrested by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.
The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the prisoner exchange, brokered by Qatar, was the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the US.
The announcement comes a day after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, who during his first term presided over a deal with the Taliban that paved the way for a US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
After Trump’s election victory in November, the Taliban government said it hoped for a “new chapter” in relations with the US.
