KABUL — The Taliban government said on Tuesday it had released two US citizens from prison in return for an Afghan fighter held in the United States, in a deal brokered by Qatar.

A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug trafficking and terrorism charges, officials said Tuesday.

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.

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.

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

Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The United States and Afghanistan have carried out a prisoner swap, the Taliban announced early Tuesday. Scarce details released on the exchange state that an Afghan national held in the United States was exchanged for at least one detained American, Ryan Corbett.

Ryan Corbett and William McKenty were en route back to the United States early Tuesday in exchange for Khan Mohammed, the first person to be convicted on US narco-terrorism laws.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan said Tuesday it released American citizens in a prisoner exchange for an Afghan jailed in a US prison.

Ryan Corbett, an American detained in Afghanistan, was released amid the U.S. presidential transition, according to his family.