So Touching : US Soldier Freed After Five Years In Taliban Captivity

US Army Sgt Bowe Bergdahl was captured in Afghanistan in June 2009 (file photo)

A US soldier who has been held by the Taliban in Afghanistan for nearly five years has been freed in deal that includes the release of five Afghan detainees, US officials say.

US Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was handed over to US forces in good health, the officials said.

The five Afghan detainees have been released from the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

They were handed over to Qatar, which mediated the transfer.

Sgt Bergdahl was the only US soldier being held by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

A video grab image from 2010 showed Sgt Bergdahl in captivity

Officials said he was in good condition and undergoing medical tests at Bagram Air Field, the main US base in Afghanistan.

He would later be flown to a US military medical centre in Germany to "decompress" after his ordeal, American defence sources told the AFP news agency.

 A senior official told the BBC that, once aboard the US helicopter, Sgt Bergdahl wrote "SF?" - asking if they were special operations forces - on a paper plate and showed it to the pilots, who replied: "Yes, we've been looking for you for a long time."

The senior official said: "At that point, Sgt Bergdahl broke down".

So touching.