Taliban Confirm to TML They Are Holding Americans; Ex-Intelligence Officer Says Detainee Coyle Is ‘Valuable Asset,’ in Good Health
Americans are being held in near-solitary confinement by a Taliban counterintelligence unit whose personnel include former detainees from Guantanamo Bay and the US-run Bagram prison, according to informed sources.
[Islamabad] On Monday, the one-year anniversary of his arrest, Dennis Walter Coyle, a US citizen and longtime Afghanistan-based researcher, remained in Taliban custody in Kabul, where he has been held since January 26, 2025, without any formal charges.
At 64, Coyle has devoted nearly two decades to mastering Afghan languages and was detained while conducting research on Pashto, the Taliban’s native language, according to people familiar with his work. He remains behind bars in near-solitary confinement, with no announced case against him and no known access to a court process.
In June 2025, the US government designated Coyle as “wrongfully detained” under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act, a determination that elevates his case within the US government and is intended to trigger senior-level coordination to secure his release.
Speaking publicly about the family’s ordeal, Coyle’s sister, Molly Long, told NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich that “the family had no contact with Dennis for nine months and only later learned he was still alive.” Long described her brother as deeply respectful of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage and said he consistently upheld local values of kindness and hospitality during two decades in the country.
In an interview with CBS News, Long expressed hope for executive intervention, saying, “We are deeply grateful for the broad bipartisan support we’ve received for President Trump to wield the formidable strength of the United States, to bring our brother home.” Her comments reflected the strain families often describe in prolonged detentions, where confirmation of life can arrive late and through fragmentary channels.
Taliban officials, for their part, have offered only broad explanations. The Taliban’s chief spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, told The Media Line that “the American individuals currently detained in Afghanistan were held on account of violations of the country’s laws.” Mujahid further stated that “discussions are ongoing to resolve their cases, with both diplomatic and internal channels being engaged to seek an appropriate resolution.” He refrained from naming the detainees.
Behind the scenes, a former Afghan intelligence senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described a more transactional logic. The official told The Media Line, “Coyle is currently being held by a specialized counter-intelligence unit that focuses exclusively on foreign nationals.”
According to the official, the Taliban views Coyle as a “valuable asset.” While he remains in solitary confinement, the source indicated that there are no immediate concerns regarding his physical health. The official said this unit frequently detains foreigners on vague spying allegations to create “strategic leverage,” allowing cases to drag on until foreign governments feel pressure to intervene with financial or political concessions.
“The authorities treat prolonged detention as a strategic issue,” the official noted, describing releases as more likely once diplomatic pressure builds to a boiling point. The source added that many personnel within this counter-intelligence unit were themselves former detainees at Guantanamo Bay or the US-run Bagram prison, and that they reportedly use psychological manipulation techniques shaped by their own incarceration.
Last year’s release of US citizen George Glezmann is cited by observers as a precedent for negotiated outcomes. In that instance, the United States reportedly lifted a multimillion-dollar reward for information on Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s interior minister, in exchange for Glezmann’s freedom.
Adding another layer of uncertainty, Hamdullah Tajik, a former operative of the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence, claimed that Coyle has been transferred to Kandahar, the supreme leader’s stronghold. Those claims remain independently unverified, but they point to the high-stakes nature of any talks.
Afghan officials deny holding Americans for bargaining purposes, while signaling interest in broader progress with the US, including reopening the embassy in Kabul and strengthening security cooperation. They also demand the opening of Afghanistan’s embassy in Washington.
Experts who track Taliban behavior argue that the pattern fits a recognizable model. Erik Lehmkuhle, an Atlanta-based global political analyst, told The Media Line, “The Taliban’s treatment of foreign detainees amounts to a form of state-sanctioned coercion rather than legitimate law enforcement.” He said, “The systematic use of prolonged detention reflects a conscious policy of exploiting uncertainty and human vulnerability to gain diplomatic leverage.”
Lehmkuhle said these practices resemble hostage diplomacy more than a judicial process and reflect a willingness to turn detention into an instrument of foreign policy. He added that “such conduct illustrates how human lives are reduced to bargaining chips in pursuit of political concessions.” He also pointed to prior releases achieved through negotiated mediation, arguing that “the Taliban may be testing Washington’s resolve.” In that context, he said, “President Trump’s public emphasis on securing the return of detained Americans—including through executive actions and pressure on Afghan counterparts—sends a signal that US policy remains focused on bringing citizens home while balancing broader strategic interests.”
From a regional security perspective, Col. (ret.) Asad Mahmood, an Islamabad-based senior security and geopolitical analyst, told The Media Line, “The Taliban’s detention of US citizens is a calculated political tactic, deliberately designed to pressure Washington into conceding to their demands.” Mahmood noted, “It is unrealistic to suggest that such tactics indicate an inability on the part of the United States to penetrate Afghan intelligence.” He argued that the US has demonstrated the capacity to infiltrate far more advanced systems, including those of major powers like China, and said Washington’s constraint in Afghanistan is political—avoiding re-engagement—rather than technical.
Viewed more broadly, Mahmood said, “this reflects a fundamental principle of international politics—actions produce reactions,” arguing that practices the US has employed globally are now being mirrored by weaker actors. He added that while the Taliban claim to govern according to Sharia principles, using people as bargaining tools conflicts with Islamic teachings and damages the group’s claims of religious legitimacy.
Kamal Alam, a former senior research fellow at the Atlantic Council and an expert on Afghan affairs, told The Media Line, “Taliban tactics increasingly mirror those of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.” He said the group’s intelligence methods and hostage negotiations track an Iranian playbook visible since the Lebanese civil war in the 1980s, and emphasized that “prolonged hostage negotiations, back-channel diplomacy, and coercive pressure are methods the Taliban have learned from Tehran.”
Alam added that prior detention experiences for some Taliban intelligence officers, including time held at Bagram, may have shaped these tactics, reinforcing what they absorbed from Iranian methods and US interrogation practices. Over the past three years, he said, the Taliban have engaged senior US officials despite lacking formal recognition from Washington. He argued, “Several meetings with Seb Gorka, President Trump’s counterterrorism envoy, and Special Presidential Envoy Dan Boehler reportedly coincided with financial arrangements linked to the release of US citizens.”
Similarly, Alam said French and British authorities have held discreet, closed-door meetings with Afghanistan’s intelligence chief, Mullah Abdul Wasiq, contacts he described as widely viewed as the product of sustained pressure tactics associated with hostage diplomacy.
Keywords: Dennis Walter Coyle, Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, hostage diplomacy, US-Taliban relations
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