The Afghan Taliban have reportedly refused to return all military equipment left behind by US troops during their withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, according to a source familiar with the matter. The person, who chose to remain anonymous, said relations between Kabul and the Trump administration are off to a shaky start. Instead of collecting abandoned weapons, the source suggests the U.S. should consider providing more advanced weapons to the Taliban to help fight the Islamic State of Khorasan (ISIS-K), the local offshoot of the wider ISIS organization. This proposal highlights the ongoing tensions and shifting alliances in the region. Afghan Taliban member released from US custody in exchange for two Americans, Kabul says The United States has released an Afghan man convicted by a US court of drug-trafficking and terrorism charges in exchange for two US citizens held in Afghanistan, authorities in Kabul said on Tuesday. Afghan officials said the man, Khan Mohammad, had landed in Kabul after being released. Mohammad was sentenced to life in prison by a US court in 2008, the first conviction for narco-terrorism, according to the US Department of Justice. In a video interview with local media organization Hurriyat on Tuesday, Mohammad said he left prison on January 16. “Thanks to the support and help of the Islamic Emirate and the grace of God, I was freed,” he said, referring to the Taliban’s name for his government. The prisoner exchange was the result of “long and productive” negotiations between Afghan and US authorities, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Mohammad was arrested in eastern Afghanistan in 2006 and extradited to the U.S. a year later, according to the DOJ website. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban administration, confirmed that the two Americans had been released but declined to identify them. One of the released Americans was named Ryan Corbett, according to a statement on a website run by his family. Corbett had been in Taliban custody since 2022, the family’s website said. “We are overwhelmed with joy that Ryan is on his way home,” the family said on the website. CNN and the New York Times reported on Sunday that the next American released was William McKenty. “The Islamic Emirate views the actions of the United States positively as they contribute to the normalization and expansion of relations between the two countries,” the Afghan Foreign Ministry said. It thanked Qatar for its role in the exchange. WHO WERE THE MEN RELEASED? According to the Justice Department’s website, Mohammad was a member of the Afghan Taliban who, at age 38, was sentenced twice to life in prison on the first-ever narco-terrorism charges brought in the United States. The website cited court records that Mohammad was a “violent jihadist and narcotics trafficker” who “attempted to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan with rockets.” Corbett’s family said he ran the NGO Bloom Afghanistan, a social enterprise aimed at strengthening Afghanistan’s private sector. In 2022, he was in Afghanistan to renew his business visa when he was detained by the Taliban. McKenty’s family has asked the US government to keep his information secret, according to the New York Times. The prisoner swap was years in the making and finally happened in the very last hours of Democratic former President Joe Biden’s time in office before Republican President Donald Trump took over on Monday, CNN reported. “It’s remarkable that the Taliban waited for Trump,” said Graeme Smith, senior analyst at the International Crisis Group. “Obviously, it was negotiated by the Biden administration, and I think the outgoing administration laid the groundwork for other potential deals,” he added, referring to talks about other Americans detained in Afghanistan, as well as Muhammad Rahim al-Afghani, a high-profile detainee. took place at Guantánamo. The Biden administration has been negotiating with the Taliban since at least July over a U.S. proposal to release three Americans, including Ryan Corbett, but also George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi — in exchange for al-Afghani, Reuters reported this month, citing a familiar source. with discussions. The New York Times reported that Glezmann and Habibi remained in Afghanistan after their release this week. Glezmann is a former aircraft mechanic. Mahmood Habibi, a naturalized American, was detained soon after a US strike in Afghanistan killed Ayman al-Zawahri, the leader of al-Qaida, the New York Times reported. Corbett’s family praised both the Trump and Biden administrations for the exchange, but expressed regret that Glezmann and Habibi were not released, according to the statement.
