DOHA, Jan 27, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Canadian ex-soldier detained by the
Taliban government in Afghanistan was freed on Sunday after over two months
of imprisonment in a deal brokered by Qatar, a source with knowledge of the
release told AFP.

David Lavery was detained by Taliban authorities in Kabul in November 2024
and had made headlines three years earlier helping in the evacuation of
Afghans during the withdrawal of US and allied forces from the country.

"Lavery has been released from Afghanistan and is now in Doha, Qatar," the
source said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the
negotiations, adding his freedom "was secured following a request from the
Canadian government to Qatar."

"Qatari mediators coordinated with senior Canadian officials and utilised
their contacts in Afghanistan to dispatch a medical team to Kabul to assess
Lavery's condition and provide care, while also facilitating contact between
Lavery and his family," the source said.

"Following a breakthrough in the talks, Mr Lavery (is) in Doha now united
with his family. He underwent a medical assessment upon his arrival," the
source added.

"I just spoke with David Lavery upon his safe arrival in Qatar from
Afghanistan," Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a post on X.

"He is in good spirits," she added, thanking Qatar for helping to obtain his
release.

In 2021, Lavery helped an estimated 100 Afghans flee Kabul during the chaotic
withdrawal of US and allied forces.

He spent decades in the Canadian military and is said to have been a key
member of its elite Joint Task Force 2 special operations unit.

More recently, Lavery has reportedly operated a private security firm in
Kabul.

The former soldier's release follows the liberation last week by the Taliban
government of two US citizens from prison in return for an Afghan fighter
held in the United States, another deal brokered by Qatar.

Ryan Corbett, who had been detained in 2022, and William McKenty were
released in exchange for Khan Mohammed, who was convicted of narco-terrorism
by a US court.

The Afghan foreign ministry said Mohammed was "an Afghan fighter" who had
been "imprisoned in America."

At least two other US citizens are believed to remain in detention in
Afghanistan, former airline mechanic George Glezmann and naturalized American
Mahmood Habibi.

Gas-rich Qatar hosted Taliban representatives during years of peace talks
with the United States leading up to the 2021 withdrawal and in recent years
has hosted rounds of Afghan dialogue which the Taliban authorities joined in
June 2024.