Factbox: Taliban Prisoner Swap

The Taliban says it has suspended contacts with US officials in Qatar over a prisoner swap which would have seen five senior Taliban official leave Guantanamo Bay, reportedly in exchange for an unknown Westerner.

The Taliban says it has suspended contacts with US officials in Qatar over a prisoner swap which would have seen five senior Taliban official leave Guantanamo Bay and head to Qatar.

But little is known about the prisoner the US is attempting to obtain the release of.

News that five Taliban leaders may be freed and put under house arrest in Qatar emerged last year.

Then earlier this week, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein told respected US publication Foreign Policy the swap deal is part of a trade for a Western prisoner.

"That's the framework of the exchange. But it's presented as a confidence-building measure," she said. "We are giving up people who killed a lot of people, people who were head of major efforts of the Taliban."

Foreign Policy claims to know who the prisoner in question is but is withholding the name at the request of US officials due to concerns for 'his' safety.

The planned transfer is part of broader 'Qatar process' efforts to negotiate with the Taliban.