American citizen released from the Taliban after a nine -month detention

An American citizen, held by the Taliban in Afghanistan for nine months, has been released after negotiations led by Qatari intermediaries, employees say.

The man identified as Amir Amiri is the fifth American who will be released from detention in Afghanistan this year. He was back to the United States on Sunday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Qatar for his “tireless diplomatic efforts”, which he believes are crucial to securing the release of G -N Amiri.

The reason for the retention of the amiri remains unclear. Rubio said he was “wrongfully detained.”

The Secretary of State added that more US citizens remain “unfairly detained” in Afghanistan and that the Trump administration is working on securing their release.

The Qatar Foreign Ministry said it had facilitated the release of G -n Amiri and that he was on his way to Doha before traveling to the United States.

Qatar began negotiating the release of G -N Amiri in March -the first arrangement of a meeting between amri and the American Messenger of the hostage Adam Boler, sources told CBS News, the partner of the US BBC.

This weekend has been a breakthrough in the negotiations, sources told CBS, which led to the release of G -N Amri.

He comes after two US citizens were released in Swap prisoners between the US and the Taliban in January. One of the detainees, Ryan Corbett, was abducted in 2022 while on a work trip.

The United States has released Khan Mohammed, a Taliban figure, which has been closed for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism, in return, the Associated Press reported.

The other two Americans were released later in March. Among them was George Glezman, who was detained during a tourist visit to Afghanistan in 2022.

British couple, Peter and Barbie Reynolds, were released earlier this monthAlso through Qatarian mediation. They have lived in Afghanistan for nearly two decades.