Taliban authorities in Afghanistan announced Tuesday the release of two American nationals as part of a prisoner exchange for one of their members, who was held in the United States on narcotics-terrorism charges.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul identified the freed Afghan as Khan Mohammad and described him as a “mujahid,” a term the Taliban use for their fighters.
The statement said that the man was arrested nearly two decades ago in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar and subsequently extradited to the U.S., where a federal court convicted him, resulting in his imprisonment for life in California.
The de facto Afghan government did not name the two freed American citizens or specify how many had been freed, but U.S. officials and relatives identified them as Ryan Corbett, 42, and William Wallace McKenty, 69.
“We celebrate the release of Ryan Corbett and William Mckenty, who will soon be reunited with their families and loved ones, and also thank the government of Qatar for their assistance,” National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said in Washington.
"The Trump Administration will continue to demand the release of all Americans held by the Taliban, especially in light of the billions of dollars in U.S. aid they’ve received in recent years,” Hughes said.
“Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” his family stated Tuesday.
Limited public information is available about McKenty as his family reportedly requested U.S. authorities to maintain his anonymity.
The prisoner exchange was in the making for many months and reportedly occurred during Democratic President Joe Biden’s final hours in office before Republican President Donald Trump was inaugurated on Monday.
Corbett's family statement praised both the Trump and Biden administrations for their efforts to facilitate the prisoner exchange.
A Trump administration official said that it was informed by the Biden administration of the prisoner exchange deal.
The Taliban said Tuesday that Qatar played an “effective role” in facilitating the agreement.
U.S. officials and relatives have reported that two other American captives, George Glezmann, a former airline mechanic, and Mahmood Habibi, a naturalized American, remain in Taliban custody in Afghanistan.
Habibi and Glezmann were apprehended shortly after a U.S. drone strike in July 2022 killed fugitive al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri in his hideout in an affluent Afghan capital neighborhood.
Glezmann, 65, was lawfully visiting Kabul as a tourist when he was seized by the Taliban’s intelligence services without charge, his relatives said.
Habibi’s family says he was arrested by the Taliban, along with 30 other employees of the company he worked at, following the U.S. drone strike. While his co-workers were released, Habibi’s whereabouts remain unknown, and Taliban officials have refuted claims that he is in their custody.
“It was our hope that Ryan, George, and Mahmoud would be returned to their families together, and we cannot imagine the pain that our good fortune will bring them,” Corbett’s family stated Tuesday.
Habibi's relatives welcomed the reunion of Corbett and McKenty with their families, confident the Trump administration will intensify efforts to secure his freedom from his “wrongful” detention.
“We have reason to be confident Mahmood is alive and in Taliban custody, despite their hollow denials of holding him,” his brother Ahmad Habibi said.
Global Reach, a nonprofit organization working with the family of Mahmood Habibi since his arrest, shared the family statement with VOA via email.
“While we are happy for Ryan and William, we are disappointed that Mahmood was not included in the deal,” said the organization's CEO, Mickey Bergman.
