A US soldier who has been held by the Taliban in
Afghanistan for nearly five years has been freed in
deal that includes the release of five Afghan
detainees, US officials say.
US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was handed
over to US forces in good health, the officials said.
The five Afghan detainees have been released from
the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
They were handed over to Qatar, which mediated
the transfer.
Sgt Bergdahl was the only US soldier being held by
the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Officials said he was in good condition and
undergoing medical tests at Bagram Air Field, the
main US base in Afghanistan.
He would later be flown to a US military medical
centre in Germany to "decompress" after his
ordeal, American defence sources told the AFP
news agency.
'Joyful and relieved'
Sgt Bergahl's parents said they were "joyful and
relieved".
"We cannot wait to wrap our arms around our only
son," Robert and Jani Bergdahl said in a statement.
In a statement, President Barack Obama hailed Sgt
Bergdahl's recovery as "a reminder of America's
unwavering commitment to leave no man or woman
in uniform behind on the battlefield''.
Officials said the Taliban had handed him over on
Saturday evening, local time, in eastern
Afghanistan.
Several dozen US special forces were involved in
the exchange, they said, which took place near the
Pakistani border.
A senior official told the BBC that, once aboard the
US helicopter, Sgt Bergdahl wrote "SF?" - asking if
they were special operations forces - on a paper
plate and showed it to the pilots, who replied: "Yes,
we've been looking for you for a long time."
The senior official said: "At that point, Sgt Bergdahl
broke down".
The soldier, of Hailey, Idaho, was captured on 30
June 2009, about two months after arriving in
eastern Afghanistan.
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sgt
Bergdahl would be given "all the support he needs
to help him recover from this ordeal, and we are
grateful that he will soon be reunited with his
family".
He thanked the emir of Qatar for his role in enabling
the transfer to take place.
On the five Guantanamo detainees, he said: "The
United States has co-ordinated closely with Qatar
to ensure that security measures are in place and
the national security of the United States will not be
compromised."
Under the conditions of their release, the prisoners
will be banned from leaving Qatar for at least a
year, the Associated Press reports.
In January, the US military obtained a new video of
Sgt Bergdahl, giving his family renewed hope of his
eventual return.
Throughout his captivity, the soldier's hometown
had continued to remember him with special events
and yellow ribbons tied to utility poles and trees.
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