Taliban releases detained US citizen Faye Hall

(Reuters) -American citizen Faye Hall said on Saturday she had been released by the Taliban administration after being detained in Afghanistan last month.

"I've never been so proud to be an American citizen," Hall said in a video posted by President Donald Trump on Truth Social. "Thank you, Mr President," she added. "God bless you."

Trump responded by thanking Hall for her message, writing "So honored with your words!"

Hall's release was announced earlier by former U.S. Special Representative to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad on X.

A U.S. official said Adam Boehler, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, along with Qatari officials and others, negotiated her release. Hall was arrested in February with a British couple, Barbie and Peter Reynolds.

British media reported that the couple, in their seventies, had been running projects in schools in Afghanistan for 18 years, deciding to stay even after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

There was no mention of the couple, whose family has pleaded for their release amid concerns over their health.

A source said earlier that Hall was freed on Thursday following a court order and with logistical support from Qatar in its role as the United States' protecting power in Afghanistan.

Hall was received at the Qatari embassy in Kabul and confirmed to be in good health after undergoing medical checks, the source said.

Several Americans are still detained in Afghanistan.

(Reporting by Yousef Saba, Lucia Mutikani, Steve Holland and Andrew Mills; Editing by Timothy Heritage, David Gregorio and Rod Nickel)

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