The Taliban government in Afghanistan says US nationals have been released in exchange for an Afghan serving a life sentence in California.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan has announced the release of detained Americans in a prisoner swap deal with the United States.
The Taliban Foreign Ministry in Kabul did not name the US citizens or say how many were released but said they were exchanged for Khan Mohammad, who was arrested in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar two decades ago and has been serving a life sentence in a California prison.
“Following extensive and productive negotiations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the United States of America, an agreement was reached facilitating the release of an Afghan Mujahid, Khan Mohammad, from a US prison in exchange for the release of American nationals,” the Afghan Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday in a post on X.
Following extensive & productive negotiations between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan & the United States of America, an agreement was reached facilitating the release of an Afghan Mujahid, Khan Mohammad, from a U.S. prison in exchange for the release of American nationals. 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 that their hearts were filled with “overwhelming gratitude for sustaining his life and bringing him back home after what had been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives”.
Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the 2021 collapse of the US-backed government, was detained by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry said the prisoner exchange, brokered by Qatar, was the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the US.
The announcement comes the day after the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, who, during his first term in office, presided over a deal with the Taliban that paved the way for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
After Trump’s election win in November, the Taliban government had said it hoped for a “new chapter” in relations with the US.
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