Taliban says US prisoner is seriously ill

An American professor taken hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan last year is seriously ill, according to a statement Monday from the extremist group reported by CBS News.

Kevin King and Australian professor Timothy Weekes were kidnapped while teaching in Kabul in August 2016.

{mosads}The Taliban called for its demands to be met for the release of the hostages, saying “(we) will not be held responsible” if King dies from his illness, according to CBS.

“We have periodically tried to treat and care for him but since we are facing war conditions and do not readily have access to health facilities we are unable to deliver complete treatment,” the Taliban said in the statement.

King and Weekes appeared in a video in January, where they pleaded with then-President-Elect Trump to negotiate their release.