5h 30min, jan 21, 2025 y - Taliban Release 2 Americans

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Two Americans held in Afghanistan were freed in return for a Taliban fighter serving a life sentence in the US, authorities in Kabul said on Tuesday.

"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

Mohammad was extradited to the US nearly two decades ago and imprisoned in California on drug trafficking charges.

The US Justice Department at the time called Mohammed "a violent jihadist and narcotics trafficker" who "sought to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets."

He was released in exchange for US citizens Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, US media reports said.

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