An American-Canadian couple and their three children arrived in Canada after five years in Taliban captivity in Afghanistan. The family flew Friday from Pakistan to Canada via Britain.
Acting on a tip from U.S. intelligence, Pakistani officials say their troops rescued U.S. national Caitlan Coleman and her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, on Wednesday hours after their captors transported them in a car to the Pakistani side of the long porous Afghan border.
Boyle provided a written statement to The Associated Press Friday saying, "God has given me and my family unparalleled resilience and determination."
The Pakistan military revealed details of the rescue operation on Thursday.
A U.S. plane was standing by at the military airbase in Islamabad, waiting to fly the family to a U.S. military base in Germany for a medical checkup, but Pakistani security sources told VOA Boyle refused to board the flight fearing their “scrutiny”.
Instead, the family boarded Pakistan's state-run carrier and left for Britain.
Coleman and Boyle went missing while backpacking in Afghanistan in 2017. The Afghan Taliban later claimed responsibility for kidnapping them. U.S. officials maintain the couple was in captivity of the Haqqani terrorist organization linked to the Taliban.
The insurgent group, which released two videos of the hostages while they were in captivity, had been demanding the release of their prisoners in exchange for Boyle and his wife. While in captivity, the couple had three children, who were rescued with them.
被阿富汗塔利班扣押了5年的分别是美国籍和加拿大籍的夫妇带着他们三个孩子从巴基斯坦乘飞机转道英国飞抵加拿大。
巴基斯坦官员说，巴基斯坦军队获得美国情报机构提供的情报后，星期三在与阿富汗交界处巴基斯坦一侧解救了美国公民科尔曼和她的丈夫、加拿大公民博伊尔。他们被绑架者用汽车把他们从阿富汗送到巴基斯坦刚刚几小时。
博伊尔星期五向美联社提供的一份书面声明说：“上帝给了我和我的家人无比的坚强和决心。”
巴基斯坦军方星期四披露了营救行动的细节。
一架美国飞机在伊斯兰堡的一个军事基地准备把这一家人送到德国的美国军事基地体检。但是巴基斯坦保安部队的消息来源对美国之音说，博伊尔担心他们受到仔细盘查，拒绝上这架飞机。后来博伊尔一家乘坐一架巴基斯坦国营航空公司的飞机前往英国。
科尔曼和博伊尔2017年在阿富汗以背包客的身份旅行时失踪。阿富汗塔利班宣称他们绑架了这对夫妇。美国坚持认为绑架者是与塔利班有关联的哈卡尼网络。
哈卡尼网络曾公布过显示人质被关押的两个视频，要求用博伊尔夫妇交换被捕的成员。被押期间，科尔曼和博伊尔生了三个孩子。三个孩子随他们一同获救。