US, Australian hostages held by Taliban walk free after over three years in captivity

The Taliban released the two professors in exchange for three of their top members detained by Afghanistan’s government

The two men were handed over to US forces and transported to a US helicopter from a province largely controlled by Taliban forces

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US national Kevin King. File photo: El-Emara Taliban via AP

Published: 8:14pm, 19 Nov 2019Updated: 10:04pm, 19 Nov 2019

The Taliban on Tuesday said they freed two hostages held since 2016, in exchange for three top Taliban figures who were released by the Kabul government and flown out of Afghanistan the previous day.

The hostages – United States national Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks – were released in southern Zabul province, ending their more than three years in captivity.

According to a Taliban official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media, the release took place in the province’s Naw Bahar district, a region largely under Taliban control.

The two hostages, both professors at the American University of Kabul, were handed over to US forces and transported from the area in a US helicopter.

The American University of Afghanistan confirmed the release of Timothy Weeks (top) and American Kevin King. File photo: El-Emara Taliban via AP

Their freedom came hours after the Afghan government freed three Taliban prisoners and sent them to Qatar. They included Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of the Taliban’s deputy Sirajuddin Haqqani, who also leads the fearsome Haqqani network.