Two U.S. citizens held for years by the Taliban have been released from imprisonment in exchange for an Afghan drug trafficker.
The family of Ryan Corbett, a U.S. citizen who was kidnapped by the terrorist government in August 2022, confirmed he was one of the exchanged prisoners.
“Today, our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the Corbett family said in a statement on his release.
Corbett and his family had lived in Afghanistan leading up to the botched withdrawal of U.S. forces in 2021, during which they evacuated. He was subsequently arrested in 2022 after returning to the country on a business trip.
The family thanked President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden, as well as members of both administrations, for helping secure the deal. They additionally praised the Qatari government for its role in mediation.
U.S. officials who remain unidentified reportedly told CNN and the New York Times that the second person rescued from Taliban prison was a man named William Wallace McKenty. No further details about McKenty have been released.
In return for Corbett and McKenty, the United States is releasing Khan Mohammed, an Afghan national who received two life sentences in 2008 after being captured in Nangarhar province.
A federal jury found him guilty of narcoterrorism due to his work with terrorist-affiliated opium and heroin producers to export their narcotics into the U.S.
The Corbett family tempered their joy with the somber acknowledgment that two other high-profile U.S. citizens detained by the Taliban were not included in the deal.
“While we begin the healing process with Ryan by our side, we remain mindful of the many families who are still waiting for their loved ones to return, including the families of George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi,” they said.
“It was our hope that Ryan, George and Mahmoud would be returned to their families together, and we cannot imagine the pain that our good fortune will bring them. We recognize the immense privilege of our family’s reunion today, and pledge to keep praying — and fighting — for George and Mahmoud’s swift release,” the statement continued.
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Glezmann was abducted by Taliban authorities in December 2022 while legally traveling through Afghanistan on a five-day trip.
Habibi, an Afghan American businessman, was kidnapped in Kabul in August 2022 alongside 29 other employees of the Asia Consultancy Group. While his coworkers have been released, Habibi’s whereabouts and health status are unknown.
