American man detained in Afghanistan has been released

By Alireza Hajihosseini, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN

(CNN) — An American man who had been detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban since December 2024 has been released, the US State Department announced Sunday.

Amir Amiry, 36, was released Sunday after months of negotiations led by Qatari and US mediators and is now headed back to the United States, according to the State Department and a diplomatic source with knowledge of the release.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Qatar in a statement, saying the country’s “strong partnership and tireless diplomatic efforts were vital to securing his release.”

“President Trump will not rest until all our captive citizens are back home,” he added. “This release today is a significant step by the administration in Kabul to effect that goal.”

Amiry is the latest American to have been released through America’s security and diplomatic partnership with Qatar, a Gulf state which the US has enjoyed a strong relationship with for decades. The US does not have a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, having closed its embassy there after the Taliban takeover in August 2022.

The circumstances of why Amiry was in Afghanistan or why he was detained aren’t clear. CNN has reached out to the State Department.

Hamdullah Fitrat, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban, said in a statement that US hostage envoy Adam Boehler met with Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday. Muttaqi stated in the meeting that Amiry’s release demonstrated “that the Government of Afghanistan does not view issues concerning foreign nationals from a political perspective and reiterated that diplomacy provides pathways for resolving such matters,” Fitrat noted.

Qatari Minister of State Mohammed Al-Khulaifi said in a statement released by the country’s foreign ministry that Qatar “remains committed to advancing mediation efforts aimed at achieving peaceful solutions to conflicts and complex international issues.”

There are at least three other Americans detained in Afghanistan, as well as Paul Overby, who is believed to be deceased, a source familiar told CNN. There is hope that this release will be the first of more to come, the source said. The Taliban didn’t receive anything directly for the release of Amiry, they said.

Ahmad Habibi, the brother of Mahmood Habibi, an American citizen held by the Taliban since August 2022, said he and his family “are grateful to hear that another American has been freed from unjust Taliban captivity.”

“All Americans should be happy for that. But my brother is also an American and he has been held by the Taliban since August 10, 2022, without any acknowledgment or ability to speak with his wife,” he said. “We are grateful that senior officials at the State Department and National Security Council have repeatedly assured us that any deal they do with the Taliban will be ‘all or nothing’ and they have explicitly assured us that they will not leave my brother behind. The Biden Administration did nothing for us. We have faith in President Trump.”

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Masoud Popalzai contributed to this report.

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