National Audio 11:55 AM ET

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NAT074 - (Afghanistan-Missing-Couple) WASHINGTON. x-10s. A Canadian-American couple and their three young children have been freed after being held hostage by a Taliban-linked group. U-S officials say that it was a secret operation carried out with Pakistan's help without a single shot being fired. American Caitlan Coleman and her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, were abducted while travelling in Afghanistan five years ago. Officials say Caitlin was pregnant at the time and the couple have since had two more children while in captivity. The children were seen together in a video that captors sent to their grandparents around Christmas time last year, in which Coleman urges governments on all sides to reach a deal to secure the family's freedom or risk their lives. …