Linda and Patrick Boyle, parents of Joshua Boyle, speak with the media outside their home in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. Canadian Joshua Boyle, his American wife Caitlan Coleman, and their three young children have been released after years held captive by a group that has ties to the Taliban and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, U.S. and Pakistani officials said Thursday. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the release of an American-Canadian family held by a Taliban-linked group for five years (all times local):
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
___
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.
In this image from video released by Taliban Media in December 2016, Caitlan Coleman talks in the video while her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle holds their two children. U.S. officials said Pakistan secured the release of Coleman of Stewartstown, Pa., and her husband, who were abducted five years ago while traveling in Afghanistan and then were held by the Haqqani network. Coleman was pregnant when she was captured. The couple had three children while in captivity, and all have been freed, U.S. officials said. (Taliban Media via AP)
The Associated Press
Members of the media make images of a posted note on the front door of Jim and Lyn Coleman's home in Stewartstown, Pa., Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. The Coleman's daughter Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband and their three young children have been released after years held captive by a group that has ties to the Taliban and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, U.S. and Pakistani officials said Thursday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The Associated Press
A Pakistani channel broadcasts a report about western couple, seen at a local electronic shop in Islamabad, Pakistan, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. An American woman, her Canadian husband and their three young children have been released after years of being held captive by a network with ties to the Taliban, U.S. and Pakistani officials said Thursday. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)
The Associated Press
A message from Jim and Lyn Coleman is posted on their home in Stewartstown, Pa., Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. The Coleman's daughter Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband and their three young children have been released after years held captive by a group that has ties to the Taliban and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, U.S. and Pakistani officials said Thursday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The Associated Press
Linda and Patrick Boyle, parents of Joshua Boyle, speak with a security officer as they leave their home to speak with the media in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. Canadian Joshua Boyle, his American wife Caitlan Coleman, and their three young children have been released after years held captive by a group that has ties to the Taliban and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, U.S. and Pakistani officials said Thursday. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Associated Press