(Reuters) – An Afghan prisoner in U.S. custody has been released in exchange for two U.S. citizens, Afghan authorities said on Tuesday.
An Afghan citizen, Khan Mohammad, was sentenced to life in prison by American courts and was serving his sentence in the state of California, the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that he was arrested nearly two decades ago in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. and extradited to the US
He did not identify the US citizens or specify how many were released. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban administration, however, confirmed that the two Americans had been freed but declined to identify them.
CNN and The New York Times (NYSE: ) reported Sunday that Americans Ryan Corbett and William McKenty had been surrendered and were on their way home early Tuesday, exchanged for Afghan Taliban member Khan Mohammed, who was convicted in 2008 on narco-terrorism charges.
There are two other US prisoners in Afghanistan: George Glezmann, a former aircraft mechanic, and Mahmood Habibi, a naturalized American, who was arrested shortly after a US strike in Afghanistan killed Ayman al-Zawahri, the leader of al Qaeda, the New York Times said.
The prisoner exchange had been in the works for years and was finally carried out in Democratic former President Joe Biden’s final hours in office before Republican President Donald Trump took office on Monday, CNN reported.
The New York Times reported that Qatar helped negotiate the final deal and provided logistical support for the exchange.
Corbett’s family praised both the Trump and Biden administrations for the exchange, but expressed regret that Glezmann and Habibi were not also freed, according to a statement cited by the New York Times.
