The Taliban-run government of Afghanistan announced Tuesday that it will be releasing Dennis Coyle, an American citizen. Coyle had been detained for over a year in Afghanistan and landed back in the U.S. on Wednesday.

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Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it was releasing Coyle as part of the Islamic holiday of Eid at the end of Ramadan. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan undertakes this action on the basis of humanitarian compassion and goodwill,” the foreign ministry stated.

Coyle, an academic, was arrested in his Kabul apartment last year and detained without charges. Coyle had spent nearly two decades in Afghanistan conducting research into local linguistics. 

In his statement on Coyle’s release, Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked the United Arab Emirates and Qatar for their assistance.