US Official Warns Taliban to Release Four Detained Americans

Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to US President Donald Trump and senior director for counterterrorism at the White House National Security Council, warned the Taliban on X to release four American citizens he said are being held as hostages.

Gorka named Dennis Keil, Mahmoud Habibi, Paul Overby and Polinus Jackson as the detained individuals. "We will not tolerate this heinous act of hostage diplomacy and the Commander-in-Chief will not rest until every American held by the Taliban... returns home. Kabul, you have been warned," he wrote. He added that the Taliban must end the "heinous act of hostage-taking."

Gorka noted that 11 days earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had designated Afghanistan as a country supporting unfair detention and sent a firm message to the Taliban.

Informed sources from Kandahar said the US warnings have become a serious concern in the office of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, prompting him to hold several consultation meetings with close associates in recent days. The sources said the Taliban do not respond publicly to the warnings.

Mahmoud Habibi, former head of Afghanistan's aviation authority, is among those named. The Taliban have denied holding him, though Reuters previously reported that the United States has presented evidence of his detention by the Taliban.

The Kandahar sources added that the Taliban are living in fear and serious worry following a recent US attack on Iran. The United States has sent successive warnings to the Taliban to abandon what it calls a hostage-taking policy.