A prisoner swap between the United States and Afghanistan’s Taliban has freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure imprisoned for life in California on drug-trafficking and terrorism charges.

The Taliban praised the swap as a step toward the “normalization” of ties between the US and Afghanistan, but that probably remains a tall order as most countries in the world still do not recognize their rule and another two Americans are believed held.

The Taliban’s foreign ministry in Kabul confirmed the swap, saying two US citizens had been exchanged for Khan Mohammed, who was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment in 2008.

The family of Ryan Corbett, one American held by the Taliban, confirmed he had been released in a statement. Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the 2021 collapse of the US-backed government, was detained by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip.

“Our hearts are filled with overwhelming gratitude and praise to God for sustaining Ryan’s life and bringing him back home after what has been the most challenging and uncertain 894 days of our lives,” the family’s statement said. They thanked both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, as well as many government officials, for their efforts in freeing him.

Corbett’s family also praised the Middle Eastern country of Qatar “for their vital role in facilitating Ryan’s release”.

Both CNN and the New York Times identified the second American released as William McKenty, though no other details have emerged about his identity or what he was doing in Afghanistan.

Mohammed, 55, was a prisoner in California after his 2008 conviction. The Bureau of Prisons early on Tuesday listed Mohammed as not being in their custody.

Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takal, a Taliban foreign ministry deputy spokesperson, said Mohammed had arrived in Afghanistan and was with his family. Photos released by the Taliban showed him being welcomed back in his home province of Nangarhar, in the country’s east, with multicolored garlands.

Mohammed said he had spent time behind bars in Bagram and also Washington DC.

“It’s a joy seeing your family and coming to your homeland. The greatest joy is to come and join your Muslim brothers,” he said.

He was detained on the battlefield in Nangarhar and later taken to the US. A federal jury convicted him on charges of securing heroin and opium that he knew were bound for the United States and, in doing so, assisting terrorism activity.

The justice department at the time referred to Mohammed as “a violent jihadist and narcotics trafficker” who “sought to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan using rockets”. He was the first person to be convicted under US narco-terrorism laws.

Ahmed Rashid, the author of several books about Afghanistan and the Taliban, described Mohammed as the “biggest drugs smuggler the US had to deal with and key funder of the Taliban”.

Before Biden left office, his administration had been trying to work out a deal to free Corbett, as well as George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi, in exchange for Muhammad Rahim, one of the remaining detainees at Guantánamo Bay.

Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was taken by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022 while traveling through the country. Habibi, an Afghan American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company, also went missing in 2022. The Taliban have denied they have Habibi.

For their part, the Taliban called the exchange the result of “long and fruitful negotiations” with the US and said it was a good example of solving problems through dialogue.

“The Islamic Emirate looks positively at the actions of the United States of America that help the normalization and development of relations between the two countries,” it said.