Defense

Two Western hostages released in exchange for Taliban insurgents

By Susan Katz Keating
Published November 19, 2019 12:00pm ET
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Two Western hostages released in exchange for Taliban insurgents
In this two photo combination image taken from video released Wednesday June 21, 2017, by the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, showing kidnapped teachers Australian Timothy Weeks, top, American Kevin King, who were both abducted by the insurgents in Afghanistan in August 2016. The two men were abducted outside the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, where they work as teachers. In the video the two captives report the date as June 16, and say they are being treated well by the Taliban but that they remain prisoners and appeal to their governments to help set them free. | (EL-EMARA Taliban via AP)

Two Western hostages held by the Taliban for more than three years have been released in exchange for three high-level Taliban leaders, a U.S. government source confirmed today. American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks, professors at the American University of Kabul, were freed in exchange for three Taliban members.

The Western hostages were released Nov. 19 in the Taliban-controlled Zabul Province, a U.S. government source with knowledge of the exchange told the Washington Examiner.

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Afghanistan Hostages Taliban War in Afghanistan