Taliban release American woman held in Afghanistan for using drone
An American woman held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan for several weeks has been freed, according to a source close to the situation and a social media post by a veteran US diplomat on Saturday.
Faye Dail Hall, detained in February on accusations of unauthorized drone usage, was released as part of a negotiated agreement facilitated by Qatari officials, disclosed a source speaking to the Associated Press under anonymity due to the delicate nature of the discussions.
Hall was reportedly transferred to the Qatari Embassy in Kabul and is in good health. Preparations are underway for her return to the United States.
In a post on X, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, confirmed Hall's release with a photograph of her and said she would 'soon be on her way home.' He posted that she was 'now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home.'
Few details about Hall's case or the release were immediately available Saturday, including why she was in Afghanistan or how long or the circumstances of her detention. The State Department did not immediately comment.
Hall is believed to be the fourth American released from Afghanistan since January.
Earlier this month, George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was freed after more than two years in custody. That release follows a separate deal, executed on the final day of the Biden administration and also mediated by the Qataris, that secured the releases of Ryan Corbett and William McKenty.
Officials in Kabul said recently that the United States had lifted bounties on three senior Taliban figures, including the interior minister, who also heads a powerful network blamed for attacks against Afghanistan's former Western-backed government.
A Foreign Ministry official, Zakir Jalaly, has said the Taliban's release of Glezmann and the removal of bounties showed both sides were 'moving beyond the effects of the wartime phase and taking constructive steps to pave the way for progress' in bilateral relations.
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