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Pakistan rescues Canadian-American family, abducted in Afghanistan in 2012

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Islamabad, Oct 12
The Pakistan Army on Thursday said it had rescued a family of foreign hostages held by a militant outfit "safe and sound" after it acted on intelligence shared by the US.

An Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said the hostages were a Canadian, his American wife, and their three children. The hostages were rescued "through an intelligence-based operation by Pakistani troops and the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence)."

"They were captured by terrorists from Afghanistan in 2012 and kept as hostages there," the ISPR said.

"US intelligence agencies had been tracking them and shared their shifting across to Pakistan on October 11, 2017, through the Kurram Agency border," the ISPR said.

The rescued hostages "are being repatriated to their country of origin", it added.

Although the identities of the rescued hostages have not yet been revealed or confirmed by the army's media wing, they are believed to be Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman, kidnapped in Afghanistan in 2012 while on a backpacking trip, and their three children -- all of whom were born in captivity.

Coleman, 31, was pregnant at the time of abduction. A video released by the Taliban last year had showed the family, including two young boys.

"The success (of the operation) underscores the importance of timely intelligence sharing and Pakistan's continued commitment towards fighting this menace [of terrorism] through cooperation between two forces against a common enemy," the army said.