US-Canadian family rescued from Haqqani network captivity leaves Pakistan on commercial plane

Islamabad: An American-Canadian family rescued from the clutches of the Haqqani terror network on Friday left Pakistan by a commercial plane, officials said. American citizen Caitlan Coleman and her Canadian husband Joshua Boyle along with their three children were rescued from the Haqqani network on Thursday after an operation by Pakistani forces based on intelligence from the US authorities. [caption id=“attachment_4141657” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Caitlan Coleman and Joshua Boyle with their children. AP[/caption] The couple were kidnapped in 2012 in Afghanistan while on a backpacking trip. Their three children were born while the pair was in captivity. The family left for Canada aboard Pakistan International Airlines flight PK-785, a security official said. Earlier, media reports said the US military had offered to fly them on a special plane. However, the family refused and instead opted to go back by a commercial flight. On Thursday, in a statement, the Pakistan army said that it rescued the “5 Western hostages including 1 Canadian, his US national wife and their three children” from terrorist custody through an intelligence based operation.