Taliban release US woman, 2 Britons

Released US citizen Faye Hall (C), flanked by Chargé d’affaires of the Qatar Embassy in Afghanistan, Mirdef Alqashouti (L), speaking on the phone after being released by the Taliban on Saturday. AFP /Diplomatic Source in Kabul

An American woman has been freed by the Taliban in Afghanistan after she, two Britons and their Afghan translator were detained earlier this year, Washington’s former envoy to Kabul, Zalmay Khalilzad, said Saturday. “American citizen Faye Hall, just released by the Taliban, is now in the care of our friends, the Qataris in Kabul, and will soon be on her way home,” Khalilzad, who has been part of a US delegation working on Taliban hostage releases, wrote on X.

She was released on Thursday following a court order and with logistical support from Qatar, the source added.

Hall, who has been identified by the Taliban’s interior ministry as Chinese-American, was detained in February along with Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who are in their 70s, as they travelled to the British couple’s home in central Bamiyan province.

Their Afghan translator was additionally arrested.

Taliban officials have refused to detail the reasons for their arrest, but one report said Hall had been detained on charges of using a drone without authorisation.