US Official Welcomes Release of American Detainee Dennis Cole from Taliban Custody

KABUL (Afghan Verified) — Dennis Cole, an American held in Taliban detention in Afghanistan for more than a year, has been released and is on his way back to the United States.

The Taliban Foreign Ministry announced the release on X, stating it followed a letter from Cole's family, particularly his mother. The ministry said Afghanistan's Supreme Court deemed his prison term sufficient.

Sebastian Gorke, Deputy Assistant to the US President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism at the US National Security Council, welcomed the development on X. "We will not rest until Mahmoud Habibi and Paul Overby also return home," Gorke wrote.

Gorke said efforts continue to secure the release of Habibi and Overby, noting that US President Donald Trump has personally acted on behalf of all detained citizens and promised their families they would return home. US officials described Cole's release as the first step in bringing all detained Americans home.

Cole first traveled to Afghanistan in the early 2000s to research the country's linguistic diversity and help local communities develop resources in their own languages.