ISLAMABAD, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani troops rescued five Western hostages, including one Canadian, his U.S. national wife and their three children, from terrorist custody through an intelligence-based operation, the army said Thursday.
The abductees were captured by terrorists from Afghanistan in 2012 and were kept as hostages there, an army statement said.
The U.S. intelligence agencies had been tracking them and shared the information on Wednesday about their shifting to Pakistan's Kurram Agency border, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in the statement.
It said the operation by the Pakistani forces, based on actionable intelligence from the U.S. authorities, was successful and all hostages were recovered safe and sound and were being repatriated to the country of their origin.
"The success underscores the importance of timely intelligence sharing and Pakistan's continued commitment toward fighting this menace through cooperation between two forces against a common enemy," the army said.
No group had claimed the kidnapping. However, the Afghan Taliban reportedly had released some of their videos in recent months. The hostages urged their governments to take steps for their release.
