Washington, March 10 -- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has officially designated Afghanistan as a "state sponsor of wrongful detention", while calling on the ruling Taliban to immediately release US citizens who are currently being "unjustly detained".

In a release on Monday, Rubio condemned the actions of the Taliban, stating that the group "continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions."

He further asserted that "these despicable tactics need to end" and warned that travel to the region remains unsafe for Americans.

The US Secretary of State specifically demanded the release of Dennis Coyle, Mahmood Habibi, and "all Americans unjustly detained in Afghanistan now and commit to c...