(Eds: Updating with Trump's fresh quotes)By Sajjad Hussain and Lalit K JhaIslamabad/Washington, Oct 12 (PTI) A family of fiveWestern hostages, including three children, were recoveredafter five years of their abduction by terrorists with ties tothe Afghan Taliban in an operation based on intelligenceshared by the US, the Pakistan Army said today.
"Pakistan Army and ISI recovered 5 Western hostagesincluding 1 Canadian, his US National wife and their threechildren from terrorist custody through an intelligence basedoperation by Pakistan troops and intelligence agencies," theArmy said in a statement.
It said the US intelligence agencies had been trackingthe hostages and shared their location when they were shiftedto Pakistan through border of Kurram tribal districtyesterday.
The operation by Pakistani forces, based on actionableintelligence from US authorities, was successful and allhostages were recovered safe and sound and are beingrepatriated to the country of their origin, it added.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump hailed therelease of the hostages from Taliban captivity and identifiedthe kidnapped couple as Caitlan Coleman and Joshua Boyle.
He said their release was a "positive moment" for USrelations with Pakistan.
"The US government, working in conjunction with theGovernment of Pakistan, secured the release of the Boyle-Coleman family from captivity in Pakistan," Trump said.
Caitlan Coleman, an American citizen, and her husbandJoshua Boyle, a Canadian citizen, were kidnapped in 2012 inAfghanistan while on a backpacking trip.
Coleman, 31, was pregnant at the time of abduction. Allthe three children were born in captivity.
"Coleman gave birth to the couple's three children whilethey were in captivity," Trump said in a White Housestatement. "Today, they are free."Trump praised Pakistan for its willingness to "do more toprovide security in the region" and said the release suggestsother "countries are starting to respect the United States ofAmerica once again.""We hope to see this type of cooperation and teamwork inhelping secure the release of remaining hostages and in ourfuture joint counter-terrorism operations," Trump said.
"The Pakistani government's cooperation is a sign that itis honoring America's wish that it do more to provide securityin the region. And I want to thank the Pakistani government.
We want to thank Pakistan,” he said.
"They worked very hard on this, and I believe they arestarting to respect the US again. It's very important. I thinkright now a lot of countries are starting to respect the USonce again,” Trump said.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson too welcomed thedevelopment.
In a statement, Tillerson expressed his deep gratitude tothe Pakistan government and the Pakistani Army for theircooperation.
Trump's new South Asia strategy recognises the importantrole Pakistan needs to play to bring stability and ultimatelypeace to the region, he said.
"The United States is hopeful that PakistanÂ’s actionswill further a US-Pakistan relationship marked by growingcommitments to counter-terrorism operations and stronger tiesin all other respects," Tillerson said.
The Pakistan Army said the success underscores theimportance of timely intelligence sharing and Pakistan'scontinued commitment towards fighting this menace throughcooperation between two forces against a common enemy.
The hostages "are being repatriated to their country oforigin."The Afghan Taliban last year released a video that showedthe family, including two young boys. PTI SH LKJ ZH AKJPMS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.