In the very last hours of President Joe Biden’s time in office, a prisoner exchange years in the making was finally struck: the Taliban agreed to swap two Americans being held in Afghanistan for one Taliban member serving a life sentence in a US prison.

An Afghan police official says a Chinese citizen has been killed in the country's northeast. The killing of foreigners is rare in Afghanistan, especially since the withdrawal of foreign troops in 2021.

The Taliban's acting deputy foreign minister called on his senior leadership to open schools for Afghan girls, among the strongest public rebukes of a policy that has contributed to the international isolation of its rulers.

Americans Ryan Corbett and William W. McKenty III were freed, their families said. The Taliban said Khan Mohammed, an Afghan serving a life sentence in California, was released.

Ryan Corbett, an American held in Afghanistan since 2022, has been released from Taliban custody, his family said.

The family thanked both the Biden and Trump administrations for "countless hours of negotiations, unwavering support, and determination."

Thousands of Afghans who stood up to the Taliban or have ties to the U.S. are stuck in limbo thanks to President Donald Trump's executive order suspending the relocation of refugees to the United States — including some who already had their security clearances approved and their flights booked.

Ryan Corbett has reunited with his family after he was free from a two-year imprisonment by the Taliban. READ MORE: <a href="

The U.S. refugee program is considered one of the most rigorous on the globe, providing a pathway to safe haven for those fleeing danger or who has faced persecution due to their race, religion, nationality or political views.

The U.S. government doesn’t send funds directly to the Taliban, but it has acknowledged that the terrorist group has pressured humanitarian groups to turn over U.S.