Link to what little information is available on this so far is at Site Intel Group.
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Motherâs Linda Boyle, left and Lyn Coleman hold photo of their married children, Joshua Boyle and Caitlan Coleman, who were kidnapped by the Taliban in late 2012, Wednesday, June 4, 2014, in Stewartstown, Pa. The fusion cell was set up after family members of hostages who were killed by ISIS said that the US government failed to communicate with them and didn’t work as a whole to bring their loved ones home.
“We’re aware of recent reports that a video featuring USA hostage Caitlan Coleman and her husband Joshua Boyle has been released”, State Department spokesperson John Kirby said during a regular press conference Tuesday.
Kirby said the United States was “regularly engaged with the governments of both Afghanistan and Pakistan at the highest levels to emphasize our commitment to seeing our citizens return safely to their families”.
The video released today is suspected by counterterrorism officials to be linked to a recent kidnapping, likely by the Haqqani network, of two people including an American in the capital Kabul a few weeks ago.
“The Haqqanis are ticked off”, a counterterrorism official familiar with hostage recovery operations told ABC News.
They call on Canada and the United States to pressure Afghanistan into changing its policy, saying their kidnappers are terrified of being executed by the state. Those videos were released around the time that Bergdahl was freed.
A section of media quoted Baseer Aziz, spokesperson for the office of attorney general, saying that a primary court awarded death sentence to Anas, brother of guerrilla commander Sirajuddin Haqqani.
Ever since the Bergdahl trade, the families of USA hostages have pressured the Obama administration to make similar deals to free their loved ones.
Coleman and Boyle have been two of the most visible prisoners in Afghanistan.
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The insurgents took the couple hostage in Afghanistan in 2012 and Coleman revealed to her family through a letter that she gave birth to two children in captivity. He added that Washington had spoken to the governments of both Afghanistan and Pakistan to insist on the need to ensure that captured US citizens are returned home safely.
