WASHINGTON — An American man kidnapped in Afghanistan two years ago is seen in a video pleading for his release so that he can be reunited with his family, according to a recording posted Friday by The New Yorker magazine.
HELD BY TALIBAN
South China Morning Post 12/21/22
Taliban free 2 Americans in ‘goodwill gesture’, US says
The release was not part of any larger prisoner swap, and no money changed hands, State Department spokesman says...
.....CNN reported that one of them was Ivor Shearer, a filmmaker arrested in August with his Afghan producer – whose fate is unclear – while filming the site of a US drone attack that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.
The pair was released three months after the Taliban freed Mark Frerichs, an American engineer, in an exchange for Bashir Noorzai, a convicted drug smuggler held by the United States since 2005 and granted clemency by US President Joe Biden.
Asked if there were other Americans being detained in Afghanistan, Price indicated there were....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2022/12/21/us-taliban-release-2-americans-goodwill-gesture.html?ESRC=eb_221221.nl
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark R. Frerichs
Kidnapped in Afghanistan 2020 - RELEASED
Taliban release American engineer who disappeared over 2 years ago
09/19/2022An American contractor kept hostage in Afghanistan since 2020 has been released in a prisoner swap for a Taliban drug lord who had been held in US government custody since his capture 17 years ago.
Mark Frerichs, a US Navy veteran and civilian contractor, was abducted two years ago in Kabul where it was believed he was held captive by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.
A Biden administration official confirmed Frerichs’ release on Monday.
“Bringing Mark home has been a top priority for President Biden and his national security team,” the official told CNN.
https://nypost.com/2022/09/19/taliban-release-american-engineer-mark-frerichs-in-prisoner-swap/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Navy Vet Abducted in Afghanistan Appears in Newly Posted Video
WASHINGTON — An American man kidnapped in Afghanistan two years ago is seen in a video pleading for his release so that he can be reunited with his family, according to a recording posted Friday by The New Yorker magazine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Biden Calls for Release of US Navy Veteran Hostage in Afghanistan
~~~~~~
~~~~~~
https://abcnews.go.com/US/sister-american-hostage-held-taliban-begs-biden-brother/story?id=78556989
06/29/2021
Sister of last American hostage held by Taliban begs Biden: 'Get my brother home'
"It is almost too late now," says the sister of U.S. hostage Mark Frerichs.
~~~~~
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/06/26/afghan-leader-says-biden-didnt-press-him-us-captive.html?ESRC=eb_210628.nl
Afghan Leader Says Biden Didn't Press Him on US Captive
26 Jun 2021https://oilcity.news/associated-press/2021/01/30/biden-faces-calls-to-secure-release-of-us-man-in-afghanistan2/
Biden faces calls to secure release of US man in Afghanistan
Mark Randall Frerichs, former Navy SEAL and contractor kidnapped in Afghanistan Feb 2020 (Department of Justice photo). January 30, 2021.
US Senator Seeks Update on Contractor Taken in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON — A Democratic senator is calling on the State Department to prioritize the return of Mark Frerichs, an American contractor believed to have been taken by a Taliban-linked militant network in Afghanistan earlier this year....
https://connectingvets.radio.com/articles/news/seal-team-six-hostage-rescue-mission-in-afghanistan
SEAL Team Six attempts to rescue American contractor in Afghanistan 04/30/2020
SEAL Team Six commandos raided a village looking for former Navy diver turned contractor Mark R. Frerichs who was kidnapped in Afghanistan back in early February, the Associated Press reports..... From the perspective of the U.S. government, Frerichs appears to have vanished without a trace. ...
~~~~~
https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-us-citizen-kidnapped-afghanistan-1485439
Exclusive: U.S. Citizen Kidnapped By Taliban Group in ...
eb 5, 2020 - Mark R. Frerichs of Lombard, Illinois, was kidnapped last Friday in Khost, a province located in the southeastern part of the country that borders ...