Abducted Canadian-US couple recovered from Pakistan's tribal areas

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Pakistan Army announced on Thursday they had recovered an abducted Canadian-US couple and their three children from the tribal areas of Pakistan in an operation carried out from US intelligence. The couple were abducted in 2012 by the Haqqani network.

According to media reports, wife Caitlan Coleman from the US, husband Joshua Boyle from Canada, and their three children, two boys and a girl, were recovered from custody through an intelligence-based operation conducted by Pakistan Army.

The couple was abducted by the Haqqani network in 2012 while they were on a tour to Afghanistan. Caitlan Coleman was seven months pregnant at the time. She gave birth during her abduction to two boys and a girl.

In December, a video was released of the couple in which both were sitting with their —then two— children. They asked authorities to negotiate to set them free.

According to a US official and Pakistan Army's press release on Friday, the couple with their children were repatriated.

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Sources

AFP. "Pakistan Army describes freeing Canadian-American couple from terrorists" — Dawn (newspaper), October 13, 2017
Jane Onyanga-Omara, Mike Argento and Gordon Rago. "American Caitlan Coleman, family leave Pakistan after being held by militants for five years" — USA Today, October 12, 2017
Ashifa Kassam, Haroon Janjua. "Canadian American family rescued after five years as captives in Afghanistan" — The Guardian, October 12, 2017

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