KABUL – Afghanistan released 100 Taliban prisoners Wednesday, claiming they were among 5,000 detainees to be freed under a deal between insurgents and the U.S.
The Taliban said, however, they have yet to verify those released were on the list they handed over to Washington during negotiations.
The prisoner release is a critical first step to intra-Afghan negotiations aimed at bringing an end to decades of war in Afghanistan.
The U.S.-Taliban deal signed in February also calls for the Taliban to free 1,000 government personnel they hold hostage. Jawed Faisal, spokesman for Afghanistan’s National Security adviser, said the 100 were released from the base in Bagram, near Kabul, on Wednesday.