BAGRAM AIRFIELD: A US soldier captured nearly five years ago in Afghanistan was freed on Saturday in exchange for five Taliban inmates held at the Guantanamo prison in a dramatic deal brokered by Qatar.
US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl was in "good" condition after Taliban fighters handed him over to "a few dozen" US special operations forces backed up by helicopters at an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan, defence officials said.
In announcing the breakthrough, President Barack Obama thanked Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, for helping to bring home the only American to be held captive by the Taliban in the 13-year-old war.
"Today the American people are pleased that we will be able to welcome home Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, held captive for nearly five years," Obama said in a statement.
Previous attempts to secure the 28-year-old Bergdahl's release through a exchange with the Taliban had failed but this time, Qatar was able to secure an agreement.
A senior administration official confirmed that, "in connection" with the army sergeant's return, the United States had transferred five Afghan Guantanamo detainees to the Arab emirate.
"With the personal commitment of the emir of Qatar, with whom the president spoke on Tuesday, we were thankfully able to obtain Sgt Bergdahl's release," the official said in an email.
An opportunity arose several weeks ago to resume talks on Bergdahl's release, the official said, "and we seized it."
Bergdahl disappeared in June 2009 from a base in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province , with the Taliban later saying they had captured him.
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