By Canadian Press

Former hostage says his American wife was rushed to hospital

Oct 18, 2017 | 4:30 PM

SMITHS FALLS, Ont. — An American woman who was rescued with her family last week after five years held by a Taliban-linked group has been hospitalized, her Canadian husband said.

Joshua Boyle told The Associated Press in an email that his wife Caitlan was admitted to a Canadian hospital on Monday and remained there on Wednesday. He did not specify why she was taken to the hospital.

“My wife has been through hell, and she has to be my first priority right now,” Boyle wrote.

Pakistani troops rescued the Boyles and their three children on Oct. 11, five years after the couple was abducted in Afghanistan on a backpacking trip. The children were born while the family was being held by the Taliban-linked Haqqani network.

Boyle said their three children are now 4, 2 and “somewhere around 6 months.”

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The Pakistanis caught the group at some point after the kidnappers had moved across the border from Afghanistan. The country’s Foreign Ministry said that was based on a tip from U.S. intelligence.

In Washington on Wednesday, a senior State Department official said that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stayed up all night at home monitoring the progress of the “extraction.” The official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the event, spoke only on condition of anonymity.

On Tuesday, Vice-President Mike Pence spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi by phone to thank the Pakistan government for helping recover the family. A statement from Pence’s office said the vice-president noted that the release of the family being held captive by the Haqqani militant network in the tribal areas of Pakistan was “an important development in Pakistan’s support to the U.S. strategy against terrorism in the region.”

The statement said, however, that co-operation from Pakistan to counter militant groups “must be continued and sustained.”

“Just as he did during the meeting the two had in New York last month, the vice-president again discussed ways that Pakistan could work with the United States and others to bolster stability and security for all in South Asia,” the statement said.

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Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Rob Gillies, The Associated Press