DUBAI: Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban released another US citizen from custody on Sunday (Sep 28) after a go to by Washington’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler, the US authorities stated.
Amir Amiri, who had been detained in Afghanistan since December 2024, was freed by means of Qatari mediation and was on his approach to Doha on Sunday night, a supply advised Reuters.
Boehler’s journey got here per week after US President Donald Trump urged the Taliban at hand again management of Bagram air base to Washington, warning that “dangerous issues” would occur to Afghanistan if it refused.
Amiri is the fifth American launched by the Taliban this yr by means of Qatari mediation, together with a British couple held for eight months, the supply stated.
“I wish to thank Qatar for serving to safe his freedom,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated on X, confirming the discharge. “The president has made it clear we won’t cease till each American unjustly detained overseas is again house.”
In an announcement, Mahmood Habibi – the brother of Ahmad Habibi, who stays detained – stated the administration had promised that any take care of the Taliban can be “all or nothing” and that his sibling wouldn’t be left behind.
“The Biden administration did nothing for us. We place confidence in President Trump,” Habibi stated.
The Taliban denies detaining Ahmad Habibi, a former head of Afghanistan’s civil aviation authority.
Bagram air base, as soon as the hub of US forces after the September 11, 2001, assaults, was taken over by the Taliban after the American withdrawal in 2021 and the collapse of Kabul’s US-backed authorities.
US officers have warned that Trump’s aim of re-occupying Bagram may appear like a re-invasion, requiring greater than 10,000 troops and superior air defences.
