American freed by Taliban reunited in US with wife and former cellmate

George Glezmann, an American detained in Afghanistan for more than two years before being released by the Taliban, has arrived in the United States, where he reunites with his wife and is greeted by a welcoming party that included his former cellmate.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says Ryan Corbett, another former prisoner of the Taliban who had been held in the same cell as Glezmann, was at Joint Base Andrews, outside Washington, to greet Glezmann.

“After a brief ceremony, George and [his wife] Aleksandra flew to another location in the United States to rest and recover,” Bruce tells a regular State Department news briefing.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement on Thursday confirming the release of Glezmann, who was detained in 2022 while visiting Kabul as a tourist.

A source tells Reuters he left Afghanistan aboard a Qatari aircraft on Thursday evening bound for Qatar, following direct talks between US hostage envoy Adam Boehler and Taliban officials in Kabul.

Bruce says the US is grateful for the support of the government of Qatar in bringing Glezmann home. She says the United Arab Emirates also played a role in facilitating the initial discussions.

In a statement, the Taliban calls Glezmann’s release a “goodwill gesture” reflecting its willingness to engage with the United States “on the basis of mutual respect and interests.”

Bruce says the United States remains “deeply concerned” about the well-being of Mahmood Habibi and other Americans still believed to be in custody in Afghanistan.

Thursday’s meeting in Kabul marked the highest-level direct US-Taliban talks since President Donald Trump came to power in January.

Boehler met with the Taliban administration’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Afghan foreign ministry says in a statement.