Pakistan army describes freeing US-Canadian couple from

TalibanIslamabad, Oct 13 (AFP) The Pakistani military said thecaptors of a US-Canadian family held by the Taliban fled onfoot after troops shot at...

TalibanIslamabad, Oct 13 (AFP) The Pakistani military said thecaptors of a US-Canadian family held by the Taliban fled onfoot after troops shot at their vehicle's tyres, as it offereda fuller account today of the operation to rescue thehostages.

American Caitlan Coleman and her Canadian husband JoshuaBoyle, who were kidnapped while backpacking in Afghanistan in2012 and had all three of their children in captivity, haveleft Pakistan after being freed, according to a US official.

Pakistan, which has long been accused of having links togroups such as the notorious Taliban-affiliated Haqqaninetwork, has faced increased pressure from Washington to crackdown on militant groups after it was lambasted by US PresidentDonald Trump in August.

Trump has identified the captors as the Haqqanis, whohave been described as a "veritable arm" of Pakistaniintelligence.

The army said it launched the rescue after a tip off fromUS intelligence that the family had been moved into Pakistan'ssemi-autonomous tribal areas from across the border inAfghanistan.

Residents in the tribal districts of Kurram, where theoperation took place, and North Waziristan told AFP they hadseen drones flying in the skies above them for several daysbefore the operation.

Ghafoor said Pakistan was told by US intelligence at 4pmWednesday that the hostages were on the move.

"We sent our troops, traced the vehicle on the basis ofintelligence sharing by 1900 hours yesterday (Wednesday) andrecovered the hostages," he said in televised comments lateyesterday.

Pakistani forces had planned to intercept the vehicle ata security checkpoint in Kurram tribal district, a securitysource told AFP -- but the militants drove it off the road.

Troops tried to stop the vehicle once it had travelled afew miles over the border. "But when the militants refused tohalt, they shot out its tyres," Ghafoor told AFP.

The militants "fled on foot", leaving the family in thecar, according to Ghafoor, who added that Pakistani soldiershad not wanted to risk injuring the hostages by firing ontheir fleeing captors.

Some unnamed US and Canadian officials have cast doubt onPakistan's version, hinting in North American media that therecovery was more of a "negotiated handover".

A government source in Kabul told AFP they had informedthe US and Canadians the hostages had been transferred toPakistan in 2015.

"It means Pakistan could have released them farearlier... But due to the tension with the US they felt it wasthe right moment," the source continued.

A senior Taliban commander also denied the military'saccount to AFP, saying the militants had released the hostagesof their own volition. (AFP)RB.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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