The Taliban have freed two hostages in exchange for three imprisoned senior militants, Taliban sources say.

American Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks, lecturers at the American University of Afghanistan, were released on Tuesday, three years after they were kidnapped in Kabul.

The three militants arrived in Qatar from Afghanistan as part of the swap.

Last week Afghan authorities revealed a deal had been reached in an effort to restart peace talks with the Taliban.

President Ashraf Ghani said at the time that the decision to conditionally release the prisoners was “a tough, but important” one and a “humanitarian gesture”.

More details to follow shortly.

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