US Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the lone American soldier to become a prisoner of war in Afghanistan, was released on May 31 after being held captive by the Talibans for nearly five years.

Bergdahl, 28, was brought to the mountains of eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border where he was handed over to US special operations forces by 18 armed Taliban militants who had escorted him to the meeting point.

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Upon his turnover, US commandos conducted a body search on Bergdahl as part of Standard Operating Procedures to ensure that no explosives were strapped on him, before getting him aboard a helicopter headed for Bagran Air Base.

Amid jubilation over his release, however, Republican lawmakers expressed concern over the manner by which the government had brokered his freedom in exchange for the release of five Afghan prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.  The senior Republicans on Capitol Hill are accusing the Obama administration of breaking the law by releasing the Afghan prisoners without notifying congress, according to Drudge Report.

The five Afghan prisoners, who are said to be high-ranking Taliban officials, were handed over to the Qatar government at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. US Law dicatates that the administration must inform congress of any transfers of prisoners  from the Guantanamo military facility.

Berdhal was captured on June 30, 2009 in Pakita province in Afghanistan. He was reported missing about 4:30 a.m. after finishing a guard shift. The 25^th Infantry Division - the division he had been deployed with - had searched for him but no sign had been found, based on a Wikileaks report in 2010.

He was confirmed to have been captured after the U.S. picked up radio conversations of suspected radicals.

The U.S. government had been working on the release of the army sergeant through direct talks with the Talibans up until 2012 when the militants had broken off contact.

After more than a year, in November 2013, the Talibans had resumed contact, after which a video was sent to the U.S. in December showing proof that Bergdahl was still alive.

Just last week, negotiations had resumed in earnest, with Qatari officials acting as mediators between the two groups. An agreement was reached wherein Bergdahl would be released in exchange for five of the Talibans' senior leaders who were detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

TagsBowe Bergdahl, Afghanistan war, taliban militia, taliban war, release of U.S. captive