Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Trump hails release of US-Canadian couple from Taliban

-

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that US and Pakistani officials had secured the release of a American woman, her Canadian husband and their three children from Taliban captivity.

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."

Trump said that the family had been held hostage by the Haqqani network, "a terrorist organization with ties to the Taliban."

Earlier, the Pakistani military had said that the hostages had been rescued in the Kurram district of the semi-autonomous tribal belt on Pakistan's Afghan border.

Boyle and Coleman were kidnapped by the Afghan Taliban during a 2012 backpacking trip to war-torn Afghanistan, and they appeared in a hostage video in December last year pleading for their release.

"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," Trump said.

"We hope to see this type of cooperation and teamwork in helping secure the release of remaining hostages and in our future joint counterterrorism operations."

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that US and Pakistani officials had secured the release of a American woman, her Canadian husband and their three children from Taliban captivity.

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.”

Trump said that the family had been held hostage by the Haqqani network, “a terrorist organization with ties to the Taliban.”

Earlier, the Pakistani military had said that the hostages had been rescued in the Kurram district of the semi-autonomous tribal belt on Pakistan’s Afghan border.

Boyle and Coleman were kidnapped by the Afghan Taliban during a 2012 backpacking trip to war-torn Afghanistan, and they appeared in a hostage video in December last year pleading for their release.

“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,” Trump said.

“We hope to see this type of cooperation and teamwork in helping secure the release of remaining hostages and in our future joint counterterrorism operations.”

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Business

The cathedral is on track to reopen on December 8 - Copyright AFP Ludovic MARINParis’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in 2019, is on...

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

Business

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal infers that some workers might be falling out of the job market altogether.