Family Freed From Taliban by Pakistan, Pakistan Newspapers
An American woman and her family freed from the custody of a Taliban-linked group left Islamic republic of pakistan on a flight spring for Britain Fri after her married man earlier declined to board a aeroplane to the U.Southward., officials said.
Caitlan Coleman, who is originally from Pennsylvania, and Canadian Joshua Boyle were kidnapped by militants while hiking in Afghanistan in late 2012. Coleman was pregnant when she was captured, and the couple had three children while existence held hostage.
The Pakistan military said that subsequently it was alerted by U.S. intelligence that the family was beingness moved across the edge from Transitional islamic state of afghanistan, a team that included infantry and intelligence personnel raced to surroundings the vehicle.
"The vehicle was immobilized with sharp shooting. We destroyed their tires. The hostages remained inside the vehicle. The driver, and an accomplice, managed to escape to a nearby refugee camp," Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, a spokesman for the Pakistani military, told NBC News. "Nosotros moved the hostages via helicopter to Islamabad. They were then handed over to U.Due south. authorities."
U.S. military officials pushed dorsum on the idea that the release was the upshot of a hostile, armed confrontation, with i official describing information technology as more of a diplomatic handover.
The U.S. had a C-130 gear up to fly the family out of Pakistan merely the husband did not want the U.South.-supplied transportation, three American officials told NBC News. It was not clear why they rejected the opportunity to immediately get out.
The family left for the U.Thousand. on Friday but their final destination was not immediately clear, according to a senior Pakistani military official.
"Information technology's a blessing that those children have survived and they're young enough that they can live a normal life," Boyle's aunt, Kelli O'Brien, told Canadian broadcaster Global TV. "It was my sis who called me and permit me know that they've been saved and they're coming home subsequently five years — that it was really happening this time, that they had been saved."
"My children have seen their mother defiled"
FBI Director Chris Wray said "we could not exist happier" about the outcome.
"It's a keen mean solar day. They've been held a long time," he said.
Coleman'southward family posted a note on their door referring to the "joyful news" and asking for privacy "every bit we make plans for the future."
The family unit were held by the Haqqani network, an insurgent group that supports the Taliban, when the Pakistani military mounted what information technology called "an intelligence-based operation."
The Haqqani network, whose leader is the deputy head of the Afghan Taliban, likewise held Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five years. The Afghan Taliban obtained five top commanders in exchange for the U.S. soldier in 2022 in a bargain with the U.S. that was brokered by Qatar.
The couple had pleaded for their release in propaganda videos released by their captors. In one released in December, Coleman referred to "the Kafkaesque nightmare in which nosotros find ourselves" and urged "governments on both sides" to reach a deal for their freedom. She then adds: "My children have seen their mother defiled."
Ghafoor said "no prisoner exchange or ransom coin" was involved in freeing Coleman, Boyle and their children.
Earlier he married Coleman, Boyle was briefly married to the sister of Omar Khadr, a Canadian who spent x years at Guantanamo Bay subsequently being captured every bit a teenager during a firefight at an al Qaeda compound in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan. Afterwards Coleman and Boyle were taken, U.S. officials said they did not think his connexion to the Khadr family was a factor.
Afterward the couple was freed, President Donald Trump called the operation "a positive moment" for U.S.-Pakistan relations. Pakistan'southward cooperation was a "sign that it is honoring America's wishes for it to do more than to provide security in the region," Trump added.
The U.S. has long criticized Pakistan for not aggressively going subsequently the Haqqani network, which is considered function of the Taliban.
In August, Trump warned Pakistan "has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists," a reference to the country's declared support for militant groups like the Haqqani network. Pakistan rejects accusations that information technology shelters the militants.
The Haqqanis waged war on NATO forces in Afghanistan and have been blamed for many of the more 2,000 U.South. military machine deaths there.
Due to their wealth and deep links to local tribes, 1 Western diplomat dubbed the Haqqanis "the Kennedys of the Taliban movement."
Courtney Kube and Hans Nichols reported from Washington. Wajahat Due south. Khan reported from Islamabad, Pakistan. F. Brinley Bruton reported from London. Mushtaq Yusufzai reported from Peshawar, Islamic republic of pakistan.
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Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/caitlan-coleman-family-released-taliban-pakistan-n810051
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