American held captive in Afghanistan released, Taliban says
A U.S. citizen held in Afghanistan for over a year has been freed, the Taliban said Tuesday.
Dennis Coyle, 64, was released after a letter from his family was sent requesting his release on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr, the Taliban foreign ministry said. His period of detention was then deemed "sufficient" and his release was approved by a court, according to the ministry.
The Taliban claimed Coyle had been detained for "violating the applicable laws of Afghanistan."
The U.S. said Coyle was wrongfully detained.
"Today, after more than a year of captivity in Afghanistan, Dennis Coyle is on his way home. President Trump is committed to ending unjust detentions overseas – Dennis joins over 100 Americans who have been freed in the past 15 months under his second term in office," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in statement Tuesday.
Coyle is an academic from Pueblo, Colorado, who had been detained in Afghanistan since Jan. 27, 2025, according to a website set up by his family.
He first arrived in Afghanistan in the early 2000s, where he worked to survey Afghanistan's linguistic diversity and help communities develop resources in their own languages, according to his family.
The Taliban thanked the United Arab Emirates for helping to facilitate Coyle's release.
Earlier this month, U.S. special envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler said three innocent Americans were currently being held in Afghanistan.
"While this is a positive step by the Taliban, more work needs to be done. We are still seeking the immediate return of Mahmood Habibi, Paul Overby, and all other unjustly detained Americans. The Taliban must end their practice of hostage diplomacy," Rubio added.
The family of Habibi applauded the release of Coyle in a statement Tuesday.
"We hope that our family will soon have the same feeling of relief, when Mahmood is returned home to us. The US Government has overwhelming evidence that the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence arrested my brother. Taliban denials of this obvious fact make it impossible for the people of Afghanistan to get the foreign assistance they need," Ahmad Habibi, Mahmood Habibi's brother, said in a statement Tuesday.
Mahmood Habibi has not been seen or spoken with in three years, Ahmad Habibi told ABC News Live on Tuesday. He has a wife and young daughter awaiting his return.
"Because he has a history of working for the U.S. government and in the meantime for the previous government of Afghanistan, we believe he was taken because of that," Ahmad Habibi said.
"It's very hard for everyone, for his wife and for his daughter and for the whole family that it is frustrating but we are hopeful," he said.
Ahmad Habibi said U.S. officials have assured him that they are doing everything they can to bring his brother home.
