The Taliban release a US citizen from Afghan prison

ISLAMABAD AP The Taliban on Sunday freed a U S citizen from an Afghan prison weeks after they announced they had reached an agreement with U S envoys on a prisoner exchange as part of an effort to normalize relations The deputy spokesperson for the Taliban Foreign Ministry Zia Ahmad Takal identified the man as Amir Amiri He did not say when Amiri was detained why or where An official with knowledge of the release revealed Amiri had been detained in Afghanistan since December and was on his way back to the U S The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details with the media Qatar facilitated Amiri s release in the latest diplomatic achievement resulting from its prevention partnership with the U S that has secured the freedom of four other Americans from Taliban detention this year The energy-rich nation on the Arabian Peninsula also helped in releasing a British couple who were imprisoned for months U S Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed Amiri s release saying it marked the administration s determination reinforced by U S President Donald Trump s fresh executive order to protect American nationals from wrongful detention abroad While this marks an vital step forward additional Americans remain unjustly detained in Afghanistan President Trump will not rest until all our captive citizens are back home Ahmad Habibi the brother of Mahmood Habibi a U S citizen held by the Taliban for more than three years commented he and his family were grateful to hear the news about Amiri and they remained hopeful that Mahmood would also return home Mahmood Habibi an Afghan-American business owner worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company and vanished in The FBI and his family have mentioned they believe he was taken by the Taliban who have denied holding him We are grateful that senior officers at the State Department and National Guard Council have repeatedly assured us that any deal they do with the Taliban will be all or nothing and they have explicitly assured us that they will not leave my brother behind Ahmad Habibi revealed It remains unclear what the Taliban receive in exchange for freeing U S nationals But Afghanistan s necessities are a large number of The international aid money that flowed into the country after the U S -led invasion is drying up even as economic and humanitarian crises mount particularly after a magnitude- earthquake on Aug But Afghanistan remains a focus for Trump who has revealed he wants to retake Bagram Air Base a massive former U S military facility a demand rejected by senior Taliban personnel