Pakistan: Landmine explosion kills 4 soldiers

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - At least four Pakistani soldiers, who were part of an operation to rescue a Canadian-American family from northwestern Pakistan, were killed on Sunday, Pakistan's army said.

The soldiers were killed in a series of landmine explosions in the semi-autonomous tribal region of Kurram Agency near the border with Afghanistan, the Inter-services Public Relations -- the military's media wing -- said in a statement.

Three other soldiers were injured, the statement added.

The troops were part of a search operation for the foreigners rescued earlier this week, the statement said.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban militants have been active in the region for more than a decade.

Pakistan army said on Thursday that a Canadian-American family was rescued from Kurram Agency by Pakistani troops and the country’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, with the help of intelligence from the U.S.

Canadian national Joshua Boyle, 33, and his American wife Caitlan Coleman, 31, were kidnapped by the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network while backpacking in Afghanistan in 2012. The couple had three children during their five-year captivity in the war-torn country.