Skip to content

Taliban Releases American and Australian Professors in Prisoner Swap

Harry Reid Says Early Voting States Iowa, New Hampshire ‘Not Representative of the Country Anymore’

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said on Nov. 18 that early voting states Iowa and New Hampshire are “not representative” of the United States in the modern era. “I don’t think it matters what happens in Iowa or New Hampshire because those states are not representative of the country anymore,” the longtime Nevada senator told reporters in Las Vegas. Reid said his state of Nevada is the third to weigh in on the election but the first that looks like the rest of the country, with a sizeable Latino population and significant groups of Asian American and black voters. While Nevada’s population is about 48 percent white, Iowa has a white population of about 85 percent and New Hampshire has a white population of about 90 percent, according to…

Australian Timothy Weeks (L) and U.S. citizen Kevin King in a still image from a 2017 video released by the Taliban. (Taliban)

Two professors who were kidnapped in 2016 were released by the Taliban terrorist group on Nov. 18 after the Afghan government freed three militant commanders.

Kevin King, an American citizen, and Timothy Weeks, an Australian citizen, were held for more than three years before being released. They were abducted in August 2016 while leaving the campus of the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul.

American Special Forces tried to rescue them several days later but were unable to locate them.

In a video released the next year, King and Weeks implored President Donald Trump to arrange for their release.

Kings’ family issued a statement later Tuesday saying he was now safe with U.S. officials in Afghanistan and getting the medical care he needs ahead of his return home to be reunited with his family. It was not clear if Weeks was also with Australian officials.

“We are so happy to hear that my brother has been freed and is on his way home to us,” said King’s sister, Stephanie Miller. “This has been a long and painful ordeal for our entire family, and his safe return has been our highest priority. We appreciate the support we have received and ask for privacy as we await Kevin’s safe return.”

Anas Haqqani, a senior leader of the Haqqani network, arrested by the Afghan Intelligence Service, in a 2014 file photograph. (National Directorate of Security Department/Handout/Reuters)

Their freedom came hours after the Afghan government freed three Taliban prisoners and sent them to Qatar. They included Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of the Taliban’s deputy Sirajuddin Haqqani, who also leads the fearsome Haqqani network. The other two were Hajji Malik Khan, an uncle of Haqqani and a Haqqani lieutenant, Hafiz Abdul Rashid.

It appears the Taliban had refused to hand over the two professors until they received proof their men had reached Qatar. A Taliban statement said the prisoner exchange was a good step “for building trust” and something that “can help in peace process.”

In a statement, the American University of Afghanistan said: “AUAF welcomes the news of the release of our colleagues, Kevin King and Timothy Weeks, who had been held hostage since Aug. 7, 2016.

“The AUAF community shares the relief of the families of Kevin and Timothy, and we look forward to providing all the support we can to Kevin and Tim and their families,” it added. “We wish to extend our gratitude to all involved in the release of our colleagues. The AUAF community, our students, faculty, and staff, have keenly felt the absence of our two colleagues even as we have continually urged their release over these past three years.”

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani a week ago announced the “conditional release” of the three ranking Taliban figures, saying at a press event broadcast live on state television that it was a very hard decision he felt he had to make in the interest of the Afghan people.

King’s family gave a special mention to Washington’s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien for their “behind the scenes” efforts to get Ghani on board with the prisoner swap. Pompeo and O’Brien made separate calls to Ghani on Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article is from the Internet:Taliban Releases American and Australian Professors in Prisoner Swap

Oklahoma Walmart Shooting Leaves 3 Dead, Police Say

At least three people were killed during a shooting at a Walmart in Oklahoma on Monday morning, it was reported. Fox affiliate KOKH reported on the deaths, saying the shooting occurred in Duncan, which is about 75 miles south of Oklahoma City. KFOR also reported that the three people were killed. It cited the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Duncan Police Chief Danny Ford told KSWO that the people were shot and killed outside the store by a vehicle, and one of the people who was killed was identified as the shooter. District Attorney Jason Hicks is on the scene of the crime, telling KOKH that the scene is contained and it is not an active shooter situation anymore. Several people were wounded in the incident, according to The Associated Press, which…