Canadian veteran released after months-long detention in Afghanistan, reports say

Announcement follows release of two American citizens from Taliban custody last week

Former Canadian serviceman David Lavery was detained by Afghanistan's authorities last November. Photo: David Lavery

A Canadian veteran has been freed following his arrest in Afghanistan in November, after mediation by Qatar, agencies reported on Sunday.

The circumstances surrounding David Lavery's November 11 arrest remain unclear. The Veterans Transition Network, where Mr Lavery worked, said last year that he had frequently travelled to Afghanistan to carry out humanitarian work.

"Mr Lavery's release was secured following a request from the Canadian government to Qatar, asking for their support given their past experience as mediators in Afghanistan," a official told Reuters.

He is now in the Qatari capital of Doha, where he has undergone a medical assessment. The Canadian veteran was "secured following a request from the Canadian government to Qatar", AFP said, quoting a source close to the negotiations.

"Qatari mediators co-ordinated with senior Canadian officials and utilised their contacts in Afghanistan to dispatch a medical team to Kabul to assess Lavery's condition and provide care, while also facilitating contact between Lavery and his family," the source said.

Mr Lavery made headlines three years earlier while helping in the evacuation of about 100 Afghans during the withdrawal of US and allied forces from the country.

He spent decades in the Canadian military and more recently, he has reportedly operated a private security firm in Kabul.

The former soldier's release follows the liberation last week by the Taliban government of two American citizens from prison in return for an Afghan being held in the US, in another deal brokered by Qatar.

Two other US citizens are believed to still be in detention in Afghanistan – former airline mechanic George Glezmann and naturalised American Mahmood Habibi.