By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KABUL (Worthy News) – A U.S. man who had been detained in Afghanistan by the ruling Taliban group for over two years has been released, the U.S. State Department confirmed Thursday.
George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was abducted by the Taliban’s intelligence services while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist in December 2022.
“George’s release is a positive and constructive step,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. “President [Donald] Trump will continue his tireless work to free ALL Americans unjustly detained around the world.”
Well-informed sources said Glezmann left Afghanistan on a Qatari aircraft late Thursday, bound for Doha. He accompanied U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s hostage envoy, Adam Boehler. From there, he was due to travel to the United States.
Rubio thanked Qatar for its “steadfast commitment and diplomatic efforts,” which he said were “instrumental in securing George’s release.”
Worthy News learned that the deal was brokered by Boehler and Qatari negotiators.
The release of Glezmann is part of what the Taliban described as the “normalization” of ties between the U.S. and Afghanistan following the chaotic and deadly American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Most countries still do not recognize the Taliban’s rule.
Glezmann’s release follows a separate deal, arranged in the final days of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration and also mediated by Qatar, that saw the release of Ryan Corbett and William McKenty.
The Taliban’s foreign ministry in Kabul said those two U.S. persons were exchanged for Khan Mohammed. He was sentenced to two life terms in 2008 after being convicted under U.S. narco-terrorism laws.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
The Netherlands’ prime minister says Dutch and German intelligence agencies have evidence of Russia’s widespread use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, raising concerns about the security of Europe and beyond.
The yearlong countdown towards America’s 250th birthday has begun with First Lady Melania Trump affectionately joining her husband, President Donald J. Trump, on the White House balcony.
Anxiety remained among religious Jews observing the Shabbat in Melbourne after an arsonist set fire to the door of a synagogue, forcing worshipers to flee, while elsewhere in the Australian city, protesters stormed an Israeli restaurant.
A troubling trend is emerging across the United States: increasing acts of hostility, vandalism, and violence against Christian churches. From arson to bomb threats, these incidents reflect what some are calling a spiritual crisis and a growing cultural hostility toward Christianity.
A sudden and violent flash flood in the Texas Hill Country has left at least 24 people dead and dozens more missing–many of them young girls attending Camp Mystic, a beloved Christian summer camp–after relentless storms swelled the Guadalupe River early Friday morning, washing away cabins, homes, and vehicles in its path.
In a dramatic Independence Day spectacle at the White House, President Donald Trump signed into law the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping legislative package that delivers on a wide array of his second-term promises and reshapes major sectors of the U.S. economy, tax system, and welfare programs.
Preparations are underway to establish a European Union-led alternative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as part of a new global marketplace that would challenge America’s economic clout.