Police in South Africa have rescued a kidnapped American pastor "miraculously unharmed" following a deadly shootout, authorities said on Wednesday.
Josh Sullivan, 45, was seized by armed men last week as he led a prayer service at his church in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape Province. He was rescued in the same city on Tuesday, South Africa's elite police unit Hawks said in a statement.
Three suspects were killed during "a high-intensity shootout" as law enforcement officers approached a vehicle at a location where Sullivan was being held, police said.
The 45-year-old US citizen Josh Sullivan, from Tennessee, has been based in the Motherwell township branch of the Fellowship Baptist church since 2018, alongside his wife and two children.
The missionary was abducted last Thursday evening when four men broke into the Fellowship Baptist church in Motherwell.
They stole two mobile phones from members of the congregation before seizing Mr Sullivan from the pulpit and bundling him out of the building. His truck was found abandoned a few hours later.
A multi-agency task force, including the Anti-Gang Unit and the Serious Organised Crime Unit, took over the investigation.
On Tuesday night, they approached the location where they suspected Mr Sullivan was being held, a house in KwaMagxaki, Gqeberha, about a 20-minute drive from the Baptist church.
According to police, a shootout began when suspects in a car parked outside the house tried to escape and opened fire on them. Three unidentified suspects were killed, police said.
"The victim was found inside the same vehicle from which the suspects had launched their attack," Lieutenant Colonel Avele Fumba said.
"Miraculously unharmed, he was immediately assessed by medical personnel and is currently in an excellent condition."
The number of kidnappings in South Africa has risen by 264 per cent over the past decade, police data showed.
According to the Institute of Security Studies, a think tank specialising in Africa, kidnapping has become a key tactic in armed robberies and carjackings.
In its latest Africa report, the ISS notes that less than 5 per cent of kidnappings in South Africa involve ransom demands.
Since his release, Mr Sullivan, who describes himself as "a church-planting missionary" on his personal website, has been reunited with his wife, Meagan and their two children.
A man named Tom Hatley, whom Mr Sullivan describes on his personal blog as his childhood and training pastor, posted a picture of Mr Sullivan and his family on Facebook.
Explaining that he had received "the go-ahead to let it be known", Mr Hatley said: "Josh has been released.
"Thank you for your support and prayers. Please do not stop praying for The Sullivans.
"Also, PLEASE respect The Sullivans' privacy and their parents'. A lot of folks love The Sullivans, and they love you back, but give them some time."
