<span style="color: #222222;">Three ranking Taliban prisoners released by the Kabul government have been flown to Qatar for an expected swap for an American and an Australian hostage held by the insurgents since their abduction in 2016. However, the whereabouts of the two hostages – American, Kevin King and Australian Timothy Weeks -are not immediately known.<br />'' <br />'' The Taliban officials told a news agency that the exchange would likely take place today. They said the three of their members arrived in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar yesterday.<br />'' <br />''Afghan President Ashraf Ghani a week ago announced the conditional release of the Taliban figures, saying at a press event broadcast live on state television that it was a very hard decision he felt he had to make in the interest of the Afghan people.</span><br />