KABUL: The Taliban government said on Tuesday it had released two American citizens from prison in return for an Afghan fighter held in the United States. Discussions about the prisoner exchange were confirmed last year, but the swap was announced after outgoing US president Joe Biden handed over to Donald Trump, who was inaugurated on Monday. "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.
The ministry said Mohammed had been serving a life sentence in California after being arrested "almost two decades ago" in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. Mohammed, who was convicted of narco-terrorism by a US court, returned to the province on Tuesday, where he was greeted by a crowd and presented with garlands of flowers. Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that two US nationals had been released, declining to provide any further details on the exchange. — AFP
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