Taliban, US Conduct Prisoner Swap, Releasing Americans in Exchange for Afghan National

The Taliban government in Afghanistan announced Tuesday the release of an unspecified number of detained American citizens as part of a prisoner exchange agreement with the United States, Al Jazeera reports.

The move follows closely on the heels of the inauguration of US President Donald Trump.

According to a statement released by the Taliban Foreign Ministry in Kabul, the Americans were exchanged for Khan Mohammad, an Afghan national who had been serving a life sentence in a California prison. Mohammad was arrested in Nangarhar province two decades ago

The Taliban statement, posted on X (formerly Twitter), described Mohammad as an “Afghan Mujahid.” The ministry lauded the “extensive and productive negotiations” that led to the agreement. The statement did not disclose the identities of the released Americans or the exact number of individuals involved in the swap.

The exchange comes the day after the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the United States. During his first term, Trump oversaw a deal with the Taliban that ultimately led to the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Following Trump’s election victory in November, the Taliban government expressed its hopes for a “new chapter” in relations with the United States. This prisoner swap agreement is the first tangible indication of a shift in the US-Taliban relationship since the US withdrawal and the Taliban’s assumption of power.