ISLAMABAD - 11 key Taliban commanders have reportedly been released by US from Military Base in exchange for three Indian hostages, international media has reported.
A group of eleven key Taliban prisoners is reported to have been released from the U.S.-run Bagram military base in Afghanistan in exchange for three Indian hostages.
Insurgent sources said Sunday the swap took place in the northern province of Baghlan and two former Taliban provincial governors were among those freed. Taliban men could be seen being welcomed by insurgent fighters in video images released via social media.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid when asked for his comments on the reported swap told VOA “I have not received the details. I am trying to get them and will share with you.”
There was no immediate reaction from U.S. officials or the Afghan government.
The Indian hostages were abducted last year along with four other countrymen while they were working on a project in Baghlan for the construction of a power generation station. One of them managed to escape and returned to India this past May while the fate of the rest was not known.
Many of the districts in the troubled Afghan province are either controlled or hotly contested by the Taliban.