The Taliban announced a prisoner swap with the United States on Tuesday, revealing that they had released American citizens in exchange for Afghan fighter Khan Mohammad, who had been held in the U.S. Mohammad, who was serving a life sentence in California after being arrested nearly 20 years ago in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, was sent back to his home country as part of the deal facilitated by Qatar.
The talks surrounding the exchange were confirmed in 2023, but the official announcement came after U.S. President Joe Biden’s tenure ended and Donald Trump was inaugurated. The U.S. media identified the Americans released as William McKenty and Ryan Corbett, with Corbett having been in Taliban custody since 2022.
Additionally, an Afghan detainee, Muhammad Rahim, remains imprisoned at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay facility, with his family calling for his release in November 2023. Last year, two former Guantanamo prisoners who had been held until 2017 were returned to Afghanistan, over two decades after their capture.
