FIRST ON FOX: The Taliban on Thursday released American hostage George Glezmann after holding him for more than two years in Afghanistan following negotiations between the Trump administration and Qatari officials, a diplomatic source with knowledge of the release told Fox News Digital.
Glezmann departed the Kabul airport Wednesday evening local time on his way to Doha where he will then be met by U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler along with a team from the Qatari Foreign Ministry.
The release of the 65-year-old American, abducted while visiting Kabul as a tourist on Dec. 5, 2022, comes after Boehler met with officials from the Afghan foreign ministry alongside Qatari officials.
While Qatar has maintained diplomatic relations with Afghanistan following the 2021 Taliban takeover, the U.S. has not.
The diplomatic source confirmed that Glezmann’s release was done as a “goodwill gesture” by the Taliban as an indication of “trust” in Qatar’s continued role as intermediary between Washington and Kabul.
The exchange differs from the release of two other Americans freed earlier this year, including Ryan Corbett and William Mckenty, who were released in exchange for a Taliban member in U.S. custody in a final hour deal struck by the Biden administration.
Check back on this developing story.
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