Taliban announce release of two Americans in prisoner exchange
ISLAMABAD

Afghanistan's Taliban government announced on Tuesday the release of two Americans in a prisoner exchange.
The Taliban's Foreign Ministry in Kabul did not name the two U.S. citizens, but said they were exchanged for Khan Muhammad, who was arrested in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar two decades ago and has been serving a life sentence in a California prison.
The ministry said the exchange was the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the U.S. and was a good example of solving problems through dialogue, expressing special gratitude for the effective role of the brotherly country of Qatar in this regard."
“The Islamic Emirate looks positively at the actions of the United States of America that help the normalization and development of relations between the two countries,” the statement said.
Last week, then-President Joe Biden spoke with relatives of three Americans the U.S. government was attempting to bring home from Afghanistan, but there was no deal to get them back at that time, family members said.
The announcement comes the day after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who during his first term in office presided over a deal with the Taliban that paved the way for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and their return to power.
After Trump's election win in November, the Taliban government had said it hoped for a "new chapter" in relations with the United States.
"The Islamic Emirate views positively those actions of the United States that contribute to the normalisation and expansion of relations between the two countries," it added, using the Taliban authorities' name for their government.