The United States has secured the release of two American citizens, Ryan Corbett and William Wallace McKenty from Taliban custody in Afghanistan in exchange for an Afghan prisoner, Khan Mohammad, who had been serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal prison on drug trafficking and terrorism charges.
The prisoner swap, finalized just before President Joe Biden left office, saw Mohammad, a Taliban fighter captured during the U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan, return to his home country.
In a statement, the Taliban government confirmed the exchange:
“An Afghan fighter, Khan Mohammad, imprisoned in America, has been released in exchange for American citizens and has returned to the country.”
Corbett’s family expressed their gratitude, thanking the outgoing Biden administration and the Qatari government for their roles in facilitating the negotiations.
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“Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” they said.
Corbett, who had resided in Afghanistan with his family for years, was detained by the Taliban over two years ago during a business trip. Meanwhile, details regarding McKenty’s release remain scarce as his family has requested privacy.
Khan Mohammad, who was imprisoned in the U.S. since 2008, hailed the swap as a diplomatic victory upon his return to Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan.
The Taliban’s foreign ministry described the agreement as a result of “long and fruitful negotiations” and framed it as a step toward improving relations between Kabul and Washington.
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“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 ministry stated.
Despite the successful exchange, two other Americans—George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi—are reportedly still in Taliban custody. The group has also demanded the release of another Afghan detainee held at Guantanamo Bay.
Meanwhile, incoming President Donald Trump has threatened to cut humanitarian aid to Afghanistan unless the Taliban return military equipment left behind during the U.S. withdrawal in 2021. A Department of Defense report from 2022 estimated that $7 billion worth of equipment had been abandoned.
Observers suggest that while the prisoner swap marks a diplomatic breakthrough, it is unlikely to result in a significant shift in U.S.-Afghan relations, as the Taliban government remains unrecognized by the international community.
