Canadian man and family held captive by Taliban-linked group released

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ISLAMABAD – U.S. President Donald Trump is praising the release of a Canadian man, his American wife and their three young children who were long held by a group with ties to the Taliban.

Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman were kidnapped while travelling in Afghanistan in 2012. Coleman was pregnant at the time, and all three of their children were born while the couple was in captivity.

They were being held by the Haqqani Network, a guerilla insurgent group that’s been fighting against both US-led forces and the Afghan government.

American sources are crediting Pakistan for helping to secure the family’s release, but there’s no word yet on the family’s current location nor when they are planning to return to North America.

Trump calls today’s development a positive moment for U.S. relations with Pakistan.

He says the U.S. hopes to see this type of co-operation and teamwork in helping secure the release of remaining hostages and in our future joint counterterrorism operations.

The U.S. has long criticized Pakistan for failing to aggressively go after the Haqqanis, who have been behind many attacks against U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says the feds are “greatly relieved” to hear of the family’s release, adding “Joshua, Caitlan, their children and the Boyle and Coleman families have endured a horrible ordeal over the past five years.”

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