By Asif Shahzad
ISLAMABAD, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Bomb blasts killed a Pakistaniarmy officer and three soldiers searching for the kidnappers ofa freed U.S.-Canadian family in a tribal region borderingAfghanistan, Pakistani and U.S. officials said.
Pakistan's army said the attacks in Kurram tribal districton Sunday also wounded three soldiers during the search forthose who held American Caitlan Coleman, her Canadian husband,Joshua Boyle, and their three children hostage.
The family were freed on Wednesday when the Pakistani armyshot out the tyres of a vehicle carrying the family during arescue based on intelligence shared by U.S. authorities.
A local government official, Baseer Khan, said an improvisedexplosive device exploded when a military bomb disposal squadwas scanning the route, and the other two bombs went off when anarmy team reached the site.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.
"These personnel were searching for the kidnappers of a U.S.citizen and her family," said David Hale, U.S. Ambassador toPakistan, in a statement.
"We remain extremely grateful for the Pakistani military'squick response and successful humanitarian operation allowingCaitlan Coleman and her family to return home safely."
The family's rescue has been hailed by U.S. President DonaldTrump as a "positive moment" for U.S.-Pakistan relations, whichhave frayed in recent years amid Washington's assertions thatIslamabad has not been doing enough to tackle Taliban-linkedHaqqani militants who are believed to be on Pakistani soil.
Coleman and Boyle were held by Haqqani militants whokidnapped them while backpacking in Afghanistan in 2012.
The Pakistani army has indicated that the captors weretracked shortly after entering from Afghanistan, although itremains unclear whether the family were kept in Afghanistan forall five years, or in Pakistan for some of the time.
Haqqani militants, once termed by a U.S. general a veritablearm of Pakistan's top spy agency, the Inter Service Intelligence(ISI), operate on both sides of the long porous border.
Boyle, in a video statement released by the Pakistanimilitary, called his captors criminals and pagans who hadnothing to do with Islam.
Boyle described the operation to free his family as"incredibly" professional.
"I did see the truth, and the truth was that car was riddledwith bullets," he said. "The ISI and the army got between thecriminals and that car to make sure that the prisoners weresafe, my family was safe."
(Additional reporting by Dilawar Hussain in Parachinar and SaudMehsud in Dera Ismail Khan; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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