Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the Presidential Palace in Kabul. Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Pool/Getty Images
The Afghan government will release three high-ranking militants on the condition that the Taliban frees two American University professors, President Ashraf Ghani announced Tuesday, per Reuters.
Why it matters: The teachers, U.S. citizen Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks, were captured by the Taliban outside the American University's Kabul campus in 2016, per AP.
- Ghani said in a TV address he planned to release the "two senior Taliban commanders and a leader of the Haqqani militant group" in order to "pave the way for a face-to-face negotiations" with the militant group, Reuters reports.
- He said he consulted with the "international community" and the U.S. before making the decision, per NBC News.
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Editor's note: This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.