Taliban release two Americans detained in Afghanistan – State Department

FILE PHOTO: U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price speaks at the daily briefing, at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S., February 25, 2022. Nicholas Kamm/Pool via REUTERS

WASHINGTON — Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban on Tuesday released two American nationals in what appeared to be a goodwill gesture, said State Department spokesperson Ned Price, who indicated that the militants were holding other U.S. citizens.

Price declined to identify the freed Americans, and he said they were not released as “part of any swap of prisoners or detainees. There was no money that changed hands.”

“We are providing these two U.S. nationals with all appropriate assistance. They will soon be reunited with their loved ones and we are absolutely gratified to see that,” he told a State Department news briefing.

“We understand this, or at least the Taliban characterized this to us, as a goodwill gesture,” said Price.

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