Freed Taliban hostage says captors raped his wife, authorized child's killing

A Canadian man who was freed along with his family after five years in militant captivity in Afghanistan said his captors authorized the killing of one of his children and raped his wife.

"The stupidity and the evil of the Haqqani network's kidnapping of a pilgrim and his heavily pregnant wife engaged in helping ordinary villagers in Taliban-controlled regions of Afghanistan was eclipsed only by the stupidity and evil of authorizing the murder of my infant daughter, Martyr Boyle," Joshua Boyle told reporters upon his arrival Friday night at Toronto's Pearson International Airport.

He said his goal now is to build "a secure sanctuary for our three surviving children to call a home ... and try to regain some portion of the childhood that they have lost."

Boyle's father, Patrick, said his son told him in a phone call after his release that the abuse his wife suffered during captivity was far worse than alluded to in "proof of life" videos the militants previously released of the family.

"A firefight (breaks) out, that all five captors had been killed by the Pakistani army, and all five of our Boyles are safe and OK. Josh said he was hit with some shrapnel, and our governments have confirmed that he was damaged in the leg.

UCJ, UNILORIN.