Taliban releases two Americans in prisoner swap

ISLAMABAD – A prisoner swap between the United States and the Afghan Taliban frees two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure serving a life sentence in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, officials said Tuesday.

The agreement comes as Joe Biden, who oversees the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, hands over power to returning President Donald Trump. The Taliban hailed the exchange as a step toward “normalizing” relations between the United States and Afghanistan, but that may still be a difficult task as most of the world still does not recognize their rule.

The Taliban foreign ministry in Kabul confirmed the exchange, saying two unidentified U.S. citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two life sentences in 2008.

The family of American Ryan Corbett, who was held by the Taliban, confirmed in a statement that he had been released. Corbett was living with his family in Afghanistan when the U.S.-backed government collapsed in 2021 and was detained by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.

“Our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for keeping Ryan alive and bringing him back after 894 of the most challenging and uncertain days of our lives,” the family said in a statement. Home.” They thanked Trump and Biden and many administration officials for their efforts to free him.

Corbett's family also praised the Middle Eastern country of Qatar for “playing an important role in facilitating Ryan's release and visiting Ryan as a U.S. protectorate in Afghanistan.” Energy-rich Qatar, which has hosted negotiations between the United States and the Taliban for years, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CNN and the New York Times both identified the second American released as William McKenty, based on anonymous U.S. officials, but did not disclose his identity or where he was. Other details of what is being done in Afghanistan.

Muhammad, 55, was imprisoned in California after his 2008 conviction. Earlier Tuesday, the Bureau of Prisons listed Muhammad as not in custody.

Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Hafiz Zia Ahmed Thakar said Mohammad had arrived in Afghanistan and was with his family. Thakar added that there are currently no plans to celebrate or commemorate his freedom.

Mohammad was detained on the battlefield in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and later brought to the United States. A federal jury convicted him of obtaining heroin and opium that he knew was destined for the United States and assisting terrorism.

The Justice Department at the time described Muhammad as a “violent jihadist and drug trafficker” who was “trying to kill U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan with rockets.” He is the first person to be convicted under U.S. narco-terrorism laws.

Before Biden left office, his administration had been trying to reach a deal to release Corbett, Georges Griezmann and Mahmoud Habibie in exchange for Mohamed Rahi, one of the remaining Guantanamo Bay detainees. Mu.

Glaizman, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was taken away by Taliban intelligence services in December 2022 while traveling through the country. Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who worked as a contractor for a telecommunications company in Kabul, also disappeared in 2022. The Taliban deny possessing Habibie.

Officials in Washington did not respond to requests for comment early Tuesday, after Trump was inaugurated the day before.

The Taliban called the exchange the result of “long and productive negotiations” with the United States and said it was a good example of resolving issues through dialogue.

“The Islamic Emirate views positively the actions of the United States of America that contribute to the normalization and development of relations between the two countries,” the statement said.

The Taliban have been fighting for recognition, in part to escape the economic chaos caused by their takeover. Billions in international funds were frozen and tens of thousands of highly skilled Afghans fled the country with their money.

—— Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.