The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 06:32 PM

American Woman, Husband and Three Children Freed After Being Held Captive By Taliban Since 2012

An American woman, her Canadian husband and their three young children -- who had been held captive since 2012 by the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network -- were freed after an operation involving Pakistani forces, officials announced Thursday.

Caitlan Coleman, 32, was seven months pregnant when she and her husband, Josh Boyle, were abducted.

The operation that set Coleman, Boyle and their children free was undertaken by Pakistani forces based on actionable intelligence provided by U.S. authorities, according to a statement by the ISPR. U.S. intelligence agencies had been tracking the hostages and shared the location with Pakistani counterparts when the hostages shifted into Pakistani territory Wednesday.

"Today they are free. This is a positive moment for our country's relationship with Pakistan," President Donald Trump said in a statement Thursday. "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 appeared to hint at the news of Coleman's release during a speech in Coleman's home state of Pennsylvania a day earlier.

"Something happened today, where a country that totally disrespected us called with some very, very important news," Trump said Wednesday. "And one of my generals came in. They said, 'You know, I have to tell you, a year ago they would've never done that.' It was a great sign of respect. You'll probably be hearing about it over the next few days. But this is a country that did not respect us. This is a country that respects us now. The world is starting to respect us again, believe me."

Coleman and Boyle were last seen in a hostage video in December 2016 pleading for their governments to intervene.

The two vanished after setting off in the summer of 2012 for a journey that took them to Russia, the central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and then to Afghanistan.

“Please don’t become the next Jimmy Carter”
- Caitlan Coleman in a 2016 plea to former U.S. President Barack Obama
Coleman's parents, Jim and Lyn Coleman, last heard from their son-in-law on Oct. 8, 2012, from an internet cafe in what Josh described as an "unsafe" part of Afghanistan.

The announcement of the release comes a month after President Trump announced a new strategy to deal with Afghanistan and Pakistan, saying the Taliban and other militant groups would no longer find safe haven in Pakistan.

Defense Secretary James Mattis and Gen. Joseph Dunford told Congress last week Pakistan would no longer be a sanctuary for terrorism.