Taliban says 2 Americans freed in prisoner swap with US, and Ryan Corbett's family says he was one of them

Islamabad, Pakistan — A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan's ruling Taliban regime has resulted in the release of two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, officials said Tuesday. officials told the Associated Press. In a statement, the family of Ryan Corbett, an American detained by the Taliban since the summer of 2022, said he had been released as part of the agreement.

Afghanistan's Taliban-led Foreign Ministry announced the swap, saying two U.S. citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two life sentences in 2008 in the United States. The Taliban did not identify the Americans released as part of the deal.

Corbett, who was living in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the collapse of the US-backed government in 2021, was kidnapped by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.

A photo shared with CBS News by Ryan Corbett's family shows the American, left, on a plane after being released by the Afghan Taliban regime as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States. In the photo, Corbett speaks with an outgoing American hostage. envoy Roger Carstens, of the Biden administration. Courtesy of the Corbett family

The deal, the terms of which were not immediately confirmed by U.S. officials, came as former President Joe Biden, who oversaw the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, handed power to the president Trump is back. Members of the Corbett family were on stage Monday with Mr. Trump during his inaugural parade at the Capital One Arena in Washington, alongside family members of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Corbett was believed by the US government to have been wrongly detained by the Taliban, and talks were underway in the final days of the Biden administration for a trade deal, but failed.

The Taliban hailed the exchange as a step toward “normalizing” relations between the United States and Afghanistan, but it likely remains a significant challenge because most countries around the world still do not recognize the militants' rule. .

“Our hearts are filled with immense gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him home after what has been the most difficult and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the Corbett family said in their statement. They thanked Mr. Trump and Biden, as well as many officials from both administrations, for their efforts to free him.

Corbett's family also praised the Middle Eastern country of Qatar for its “vital role in Ryan's release and for its visits to Ryan as the protecting power of the United States in Afghanistan.”

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Energy-rich Qatar, which has hosted negotiations between the United States and the Taliban over the years, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A source close to Taliban Interior Minister Sirajudding Haqqani told CBS News' Ahmad Mukhtar that the second American released in the swap was William McKenty, the same name reported earlier by CNN and the New York Times, citing unnamed U.S. officials. The source told CBS News that the UAE and Qatar played a role in the prisoner swap. No further details have been revealed about McKenty or what he may have done in Afghanistan.

Mohammed, 55, was a prisoner in California after his conviction in 2008. The Bureau of Prisons listed Mohammed as not in custody Tuesday morning.

Mohammed was arrested on the battlefield in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province and then taken to the United States. A federal jury convicted him of possessing heroin and opium that he knew was destined for the United States and, in doing so, complicity in terrorist activity.

The Justice Department at the time called Mohammed a “violent jihadist and drug trafficker” who “sought to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets.” He was the first person to be convicted under US narcoterrorism laws.

Before Biden left office, his administration tried to strike a deal to release Corbett as well as George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi in exchange for Muhammad Rahim, one of the last detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Last week, Biden spoke with relatives of the three Americans, although no agreement had been reached to pick them up at that time, family members said.

Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was arrested by Taliban intelligence in December 2022 while crossing the country. Habibi, an Afghan American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company, also disappeared in 2022. The Taliban have denied holding Habibi.

In a statement released Tuesday by Mahmood Habibi's family, one of the arrested man's brothers, Ahmad Habibi, said they were “grateful that Ryan and William are reunited with their families” and that they were ” confident that the Trump administration will make a greater effort to bring my brother home.

“We have reason to be confident that Mahmood is alive and in the custody of the Taliban, despite their hollow refusals to detain him. My brother is an innocent man who was separated from his wife, young daughter and elderly parents for over two years. said Ahmad Habibi, adding that his family had been “frustrated” by the Biden administration's efforts to free his brother.

“We hoped that Ryan, George and Mahmoud would be reunited with their families, and we cannot imagine the pain our luck will bring them,” the Corbett family said. “We recognize the immense privilege of our family’s reunion today and pledge to continue to pray – and fight – for the speedy release of George and Mahmoud.”

Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said in a statement: “We celebrate the release of Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, who will soon be reunited with their families and loved ones, and also thank the Government of Qatar for their assistance. The Trump administration will continue to demand the release of all Americans held by the Taliban, especially in light of the billions of dollars in U.S. aid they have received in recent years. »

A Trump administration official said the national security team was briefed on the deal by the Biden administration.

The Taliban called the exchange the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the United States and said it was a good example of solving problems through dialogue.

“The Islamic Emirate views positively the actions of the United States of America which contribute to the normalization and development of relations between the two countries,” he said.

The Taliban have tried to advance to gain recognition, in part to escape the economic crisis caused by their takeover. Billions in international funds were frozen and tens of thousands of highly skilled Afghans fled the country and took their money with them.

Olivia Rinaldi contributed to this report.

Afghanistan: the new reality

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