A U.S. Navy reservist and his brother were released by the Taliban on Friday after a months-long campaign by the Biden administration to secure their freedom, the State Department said.
Safi Rauf and Anees Khalil, a U.S. green-card holder, were detained in December. The former Afghan refugees founded the Human First Coalition, which worked to evacuate people fleeing the country after the Taliban took over Kabul last year. The group later shifted to providing humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged country.
The Biden administration also is seeking the release of Mark Frerichs, a Navy veteran, who has been detained by the Taliban since before the Trump administration struck a deal with the militants in February 2020 to end the 20-year war.