The Taliban release a US citizen from Afghan prison

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban on Sunday freed a U.S. citizen from an Afghan prison, weeks after they said 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 said Amiri had been detained in Afghanistan since December 2024 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 security 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 recent executive order, to protect American nationals from wrongful detention abroad.

“While this marks an important 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, said 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 2022. The FBI and his family have said they believe he was taken by the Taliban, who have denied holding him.

“We are grateful that senior officials at the State Department and National Security 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 said.

It remains unclear what the Taliban receive in exchange for freeing U.S. nationals. But Afghanistan’s needs are many.

The international aid money that flowed into the country after the 2001 U.S.-led invasion is drying up even as economic and humanitarian crises mount, particularly after a magnitude-6 earthquake on Aug. 31.

But Afghanistan remains a focus for Trump, who has said he wants to retake Bagram Air Base, a massive former U.S. military facility, a demand rejected by senior Taliban officials.

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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report from Washington.