A US pastor kidnapped by armed men during a church service in South Africa last week has been rescued by an elite police unit.
The rescue followed a "high-intensity shoot-out" that left three people dead, the <em>BBC</em> <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj9ez20mgvdo"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a>. Josh Sullivan was found unharmed in the township in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape <strong>–</strong> the area where the 45-year-old was kidnapped on 10 April <strong>–</strong> on the evening of Tuesday, 15 April.<br><br>No immediate details on the kidnappers have been provided, the <em>BBC</em> notes, though they are suspected of having been familiar with the movements of the pastor and his family. The British state broadcaster notes that over the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in kidnappings for ransom in South Africa.
Jeremy Hall, a spokesperson for the Sullivan family, told local newspaper <em>TimesLIVE</em> that the pastor was at church with his wife and their children when the kidnapping occurred, adding the kidnappers "knew his name". <br><br>On his personal website, Sullivan describes himself as "a church planting missionary" and says that he moved to South Africa with his wife and children in 2018 to establish a church for Xhosa-speaking people.
After the kidnappers made a ransom demand, an elite South African police unit, known as the Hawks, became involved, the <em>BBC</em> reports. <br><br>In a statement released today, Hawks spokesperson Avele Fumba said that Sullivan had been rescued following "verified intelligence wherein a coordinated team…moved swiftly to the identified location".
Fumba said that as the elite team approached the identified house, the suspects attempted to flee in a vehicle, while opening fire at the police officers. <br><br>"The officers responded with tactical precision, leading to a high-intensity shootout in which three unidentified suspects were fatally wounded," Fumba said.
<em>Photo: Police patrol (Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images.) </em>
