WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump announced that US and Pakistani officials had secured the release of an American woman, her Canadian husband and their three children from Taliban captivity.
On Thursday, the Army’s media wing confirmed the rescue and recovery of five foreign nationals in an intelligence-based operation.
The US leader identified the kidnapped couple as Caitlan Coleman and Joshua Boyle, and said their release was a “positive moment” for US relations with Pakistan.
“Ms Coleman gave birth to the couple’s three children while they were in captivity,” Trump said, in a White House statement. “Today, they are free.”
“This is a positive moment for our country’s relationship with Pakistan. The Pakistani government’s cooperation is a sign that it is honoring America’s wishes for it to do more to provide security in the region,” said a statement released by the White House.
The statement added that the White House hopes to see such cooperation and teamwork….in our future joint counterterrorism operations.
The foreign nationals were captured in Afghanistan by terrorists.
US intelligence services had been tracking the movement of the hostages and informed their Pakistani partners when the hostages were moved across the Pak-Afghan border into Kurram agency on October 11, 2017.
The operation by Pakistani forces, based on actionable intelligence by US authorities, successfully recovered the hostages.
“All hostages were recovered safe and sound and are being repatriated to the country of their origin,” said ISPR.