A U.S. official says Qatar has agreed to temporarily extend travel and other restrictions on five top Taliban members. The five men were released last year from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in exchange for a captured American soldier.
The year-long restrictions on the five were to end Monday.
Last year, Qatar agreed to let the five men stay in the country as part of an agreement to free U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. The Taliban in Afghanistan had held the soldier for five years after he left from his Army position. He has now been charged with illegally leaving his post.
One U.S. lawmaker said at least one of the five men contacted members of the Haqqani network during the past year while in Qatar. U.S. officials have linked the Haqqani network to al-Qaida.
