• The Afghan warrior Khan Mohammad returns to Afghanistan.
• He was serving a life sentence in the state of California.
• Dozens of foreigners are detained by the Taliban authorities.

The Taliban government said Tuesday it had released American citizens from prison in exchange for an Afghan fighter being held in the United States, in a deal brokered by Qatar.

Discussions of the prisoner swap were confirmed last year, but the swap was announced after outgoing US President Joe Biden was handed over to Donald Trump, who was inaugurated on Monday.

“An Afghan fighter Khan Mohammad 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 Mohammad had been serving a life sentence in the state of California after being arrested “almost two decades ago” in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar.

asked by AFPthe State Department declined to provide further details or the number of American detainees.

However, Ryan Corbett’s family expressed “overwhelming gratitude” that he came home.

“Today our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the family said on their website.

Last July, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said two American prisoners were being held in Afghanistan and that an exchange had been discussed with the United States.

US media named the Americans as William McKenty and Corbett, the latter in Taliban custody since 2022.

Biden came under heavy criticism for the chaotic withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021, more than a year after Trump presided over a deal with Taliban insurgents to end US and NATO involvement in the two-decade war.

‘New Chapter’

After Trump’s election victory in November, the Taliban government had said it hoped for a “new chapter” in relations with the United States.

Taliban officials have repeatedly said they want positive relations with all countries since sweeping back to power in 2021.

No state has officially recognized their government, with restrictions on women’s rights a major issue for many countries, including the United States.

The Taliban government on Tuesday called the exchange “a good example of solving problems through dialogue and expresses special gratitude for the effective role played by the brotherly country of Qatar in this regard”.

“The Islamic Emirate views positively the actions of the United States that contribute to the normalization and expansion of relations between the two countries,” it added, using the Taliban authorities’ name for their government.

Dozens of foreigners have been detained by Taliban authorities since the group’s return to power.

It is unclear how many Afghan citizens are in US custody.

At least one Afghan prisoner remains in the secret US prison Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, Muhammad Rahim, whose family called for his release in November 2023.

Last February, two former detainees held at Guantanamo Bay until 2017 were welcomed home to Afghanistan, more than 20 years after they were arrested.