Newly empowered and emboldened, the TTP dreams of following in the Afghan Taliban’s footsteps by carving out its own emirate – this time on Pakistani soil.

The U.S. may place a "very big bounty" on the top leaders of the Taliban, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday, adding he was hearing that the Taliban held more American hostages than previously reported.

The deal was struck for Khan Mohammad, a member of the Taliban serving two life sentences in a U.S. prison on "narco-terrorism charges."

A prisoner swap between the U.S. and Afghanistan last week freed two Americans in exchange for a Taliban figure, Khan Muhammad.

Taliban government in Afghanistan says two US nationals released in exchange for Afghan serving life sentence in US.

We celebrate the release of Ryan Corbett and William McKenty who will soon reunited with their families and loved ones,” National Security spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement.