Taliban Says It Released American Citizen Who Was Detained for Past Year

A researcher, Dennis Coyle, was held by the Taliban for more than a year, his family says.

A Taliban security personnel walks past rubble in a file photo. Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images

Afghanistan’s Taliban on Tuesday said that a U.S. citizen who was held captive for more than a year was released.

Dennis Coyle was “detained for violating the enforced laws of Afghanistan,” the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, translated into English. The translated statement added that he was released on behalf of the family and the Taliban.