Taliban release three Indian engineers: report

The Afghan Taliban said it has freed three Indian engineers held hostage for over a year in an exchange for securing the release of 11 of its members, including some high-ranking officials of the militant group, according to a media report yesterday. The prisoner swap happened on Sunday, The Express Tribune quoted two Taliban officials as saying, but it did not disclose the location. The Taliban officials spoke on condition of anonymity, citing what they described as the sensitive nature of the issue. The officials refused to say who the militant group exchanged the prisoners with and whether the freed Taliban members were being held by Afghan authorities or US forces in Afghanistan.