US citizen released by Afghan Taliban after visit by envoy
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Mr Amir Amiri (left) after his release in Kabul, on board a jet with US hostage envoy Adam Boehler (third from left), White House official Sebastian Gorka and a Qatari diplomat.
PHOTO: AFP
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DUBAI – Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban released another US citizen from custody on Sept 28 after a visit by Washington’s hostage envoy Adam Boehler, the US government said.
Mr Amir Amiri, who had been detained in Afghanistan since December 2024, was released through Qatari mediation and was on his way to Doha on Sept 28 evening, an official source told Reuters, asking not to be identified by name or nationality.
Mr Boehler’s visit came a week after US President Donald Trump urged the Taliban to give back control of Bagram Air Base
Mr Amiri was the fifth US citizen freed by the Taliban in 2025 thanks to Qatari mediation, along with a British couple held for eight months, the source said.
“I want to thank Qatar for helping secure his freedom,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X, confirming the release. “Potus (the President) has made it clear we will not stop until every American unjustly detained abroad is back home.”
In a statement, the brother of still-detained Ahmad Habibi said he has received repeated assurances from the administration that any deal with the Taliban would be an “all or nothing” agreement and Mr Habibi would not be left behind.
“The Biden administration did nothing for us. We have faith in President Trump,” Mr Ahmad’s brother, Mr Mahmood Habibi, said.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government denies it detained Mr Habibi, who was a former head of Afghanistan’s civil aviation.
The Bagram base targeted by Mr Trump was used by US forces after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the US. It was among bases the Islamist Taliban movement took over after the withdrawal of American forces in 2021 and toppling of the US-backed government in Kabul.
Mr Trump’s goal of re-occupying Bagram Air Base might end up looking like a re-invasion of the country, requiring more than 10,000 troops as well as deployment of advanced air defences, officials have told Reuters. REUTERS
