Taliban confirm release of two Americans in prisoner exchange

Ryan Corbett with his daughter Miriam and son Caleb in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2020 (Anna Corbett via AP)

A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan’s Taliban has freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure jailed for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges.

The deal came as Joe Biden, who oversaw the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, handed power to returning President Donald Trump. The Taliban praised the swap as a step towards the “normalisation” of ties between the US and Afghanistan.