Taliban frees U.S. and Australian hostages in a prisoner swap - Afghan officials

Taliban insurgents released two Western hostages - Kevin King from the United States and Timothy Weeks from Australia - on Tuesday in a prisoner exchange deal with the Afghan government, two Afghan officials said.

"The two professors are safely freed and are being taken care of now," one of the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The American and Australian were exchanged with three insurgent leaders, including a key militant figure, Anas Haqqani.