US secretly frees high-level Afghan militants as bargaining chip – report

News has emerged that in order to reach a truce in the most restive Afghan provinces, the US has secretly released several dozen high-ranking Afghan militants. In exchange the US gets vague hopes that the militants will not take up arms again.

­The secret “strategic release” program is not a part of the US global plan to reach a peace deal with the Taliban. It is only intended to create some immediate tactical gains in particular regions where NATO is unable to ensure security, the Washington Post reports, citing several US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The report neither specified the number of prisoners who had been released nor confirmed when exactly the program was established.