article: The prisoner swap came after secret talks between the US government and the Taliban, brokered by Qatar. Bergdahl was serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment in Paktika province near the Pakistani border and went missing on 30 June 2009, five months after being deployed to Afghanistan. The circumstances of his capture remain murky, with speculation he may have walked away from his base out of disillusionment with the US campaign. In March 2015, he was charged with desertion and misbehaviour before the enemy. The US believes he was across the frontier in Pakistan for most of his captivity, reportedly held by the Haqqani network, which operates in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region and is allied to the Afghan Taliban. Profile: Sgt Bowe Bergdahl The circumstances of Sgt Bergdahl's capture in 2009 remain unclear, although a Pentagon investigation a year later concluded he left his post in Paktika Province without authorisation, according to a Pentagon official speaking to Associated Press news agency. Several commentators and soldiers have branded him a deserter and called for him to be punished. The New York Times said on his disappearance in 2009 had noted he had left military areas before, during a training programme in California and an Afghan outpost, but returned each time. US officials told the newspaper the report did not conclude whether Sgt Bergdahl had intended to permanently desert the military. The US military's top-ranking officer, Gen Martin Dempsey, has that the Army would not ignore misconduct but that the 28-year-old was innocent until proven guilty. "When he is able to provide the facts, we'll learn what happened." The defence department opened up an investigation into his disappearance and capture, appointing a two-star general with combat experience in Afghanistan to lead the inquiry. Taliban officials say the 28-year-old was handed over near Khost, close to the the Afghan-Pakistan border, on the evening of 31 May. A several-dozen strong US special forces team flew in by helicopter and briefly met some 18 Taliban on the ground. The exchange, captured on video, shows Sgt Bergdahl sitting in a pick-up truck before being walked to the helicopter. Once the helicopter was in the air, Bergdahl wrote the letters "SF?" on a paper plate - an abbreviation for special forces - and reportedly broke down when the men responded: "Yes, we've been looking for you for a long time." Taliban release video of handover Sgt Bergdahl was the only US soldier being held by the enemy in the Afghan conflict, and Washington had long been seeking his release, spurred on by the "Standing with Bowe" campaign led by his parents in Hailey, Idaho. Negotiations for the US-Taliban prisoner swap began three years ago with US and Taliban officials meeting face-to-face in Qatar. But the talks did not move forward because the US were pushing for a wider peace process, while the Taliban wanted to limit the talks to a prisoner swap, Taliban sources told the BBC's David Loyn in Kabul. Direct negotiations broke down a year ago when the Afghan government opposed the opening of a Taliban office in
summary: US Sgt Bowe Bergdahl has been released five years after being captured by Afghan Taliban, in a controversial exchange for five Taliban officials being held at Guantanamo Bay.