WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the release of an American-Canadian family held by a Taliban-linked group for five years (all times local):
8:45 a.m.
The parents of an American woman, who along with her Canadian husband and their children had been held captive by Taliban-linked extremists, say they were relieved to finally speak to their daughter after five years.
Lynda Coleman told ABC News that the opportunity to finally speak to her daughter was “incredible.”
Coleman said: “I’ve been waiting to hear that voice for so long. And then to hear her voice and have it sound exactly like the last time I talked to her.”
Caitlan Coleman’s father, Jim Coleman, said he is angry at his daughter’s husband for taking her to Afghanistan.
He said: “Taking your pregnant wife to a very dangerous place, to me, and the kind of person I am, is unconscionable.”
Jim Coleman said he didn’t understand why Joshua Boyle didn’t let his family leave Afghanistan on a U.S. military plane. He said if he saw an American aircraft, he’d be “running for it.”
Coleman, of Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, and her Canadian husband were abducted in October 2012 while on a backpacking trip that took them to Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and then to Afghanistan.
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7:40 a.m.
Pakistan says the successful rescue of a U.S.-Canadian family held for five years by Taliban-linked extremists proves the country is an ally against terrorism.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria says the Pakistani raid that led to the family’s rescue, which was based on a tip-off from U.S. intelligence, shows that Pakistan will act against a “common enemy” when Washington shares information.
U.S. officials have long accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye to groups like the Haqqani network, which was holding the family. Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Pakistan to stop harboring militants.
On Thursday, Trump praised Pakistan for its willingness to “do more to provide security in the region” and said the release suggests other “countries are starting to respect the United States of America once again.”
Caitlan Coleman of Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, and her husband, Canadian Joshua Boyle, were abducted in 2012. They had three children in captivity. Pakistani officials say the family was flown out of Pakistan on Friday, but it’s unclear where they are headed.
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6 a.m.
Pakistani officials say an American woman, her Canadian husband and their children have left Pakistan after being rescued from a Taliban-linked group that held them for five years.
The two Pakistani security officials say Caitlan Coleman of Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, her husband, Canadian Joshua Boyle, along with their three children left by plane from Islamabad on Friday. They did not say where the family was headed.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with official protocol.
Pakistan said Thursday it rescued the family after their captors moved them across the border from Afghanistan. It says the rescue was made possible by intelligence provided by Washington.
The couple was kidnapped in October 2012 while on a backpacking trip that took them to Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and then to Afghanistan. All three children were born in captivity.
- Munir Ahmed in Islamabad
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3:40 a.m.
U.S. officials say an American woman and her Canadian husband are free five years after they were seized by a terrorist network in the mountains of Afghanistan.
The couple and their children - all three born in captivity - were rescued in a dramatic operation orchestrated by the U.S. and Pakistani governments, officials said Thursday.
Caitlan Coleman of Stewartstown, Pennsylvania, and her husband, Canadian Joshua Boyle, were abducted in October 2012 and held by the Haqqani network, which has ties to the Taliban and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States.
The operation came after years of U.S. pressure on Pakistan for assistance. It unfolded quickly and included what some described as a shootout and a dangerous raid. U.S. officials did not confirm the details.
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