Afghanistan's Taliban freed on Monday American engineer Mark Frerichs in exchange for an Afghan tribal leader linked to the Taliban who the United States had held on drugs charges since 2005, the group's acting foreign minister said.
Frerichs was exchanged at the airport in the capital, Kabul, with Bashir Noorzai, acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told a news conference in the city.
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Noorzai was detained by the United States on suspicion of smuggling more than $50 million worth of heroin into the United States and Europe.
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is ready to solve problems by negotiation with all including the United States," Muttaqi said, referring to the Taliban.
