An American preacher who was taken hostage by armed men while preaching a sermon in a South African township last week has been rescued in a fierce gun battle with his kidnappers, police said Wednesday. <\/p>\n
Josh Sullivan, 45, was kidnapped last Thursday during an evening service in Motherwell, a township in Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth, in South Africa\u2019s Eastern Cape province, the Fellowship Baptist Church said. <\/p>\n
The South African Police Service said officers launched a rescue operation after receiving intelligence the pastor was being held by his abductors at a house in KwaMagxaki, another township in the city. <\/p>\n
A rescue team was sent to the location, a police statement said, \u201cleading to a high-intensity shootout\u201d that left \u201cthree unidentified suspects\u201d dead. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs officers approached the house, they observed a vehicle on the premises. The suspects inside the vehicle upon seeing law enforcement allegedly attempted to flee and opened fire on the team,\u201d the statement read. <\/p>\n
It added that Sullivan, whom the Associated Press reported is from the US state of Tennessee, was found inside the vehicle \u201cmiraculously unharmed\u201d and \u201cis currently in an excellent condition.\u201d <\/p>\n
Tom Hatley, whom Sullivan had said on his website he was training under, also announced the rescue. \u201cJosh has been released,\u201d Hatley wrote in a Facebook post along with a picture of Sullivan and his family. \u201cI just got \u2018the go ahead to let it be known,\u2019\u201d he added while urging for privacy from the public. <\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, 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,\u201d he said in another post. <\/p>\n
Kidnappings are at a record high in South Africa with an average of 51 abductions every day, authorities said last year. The country also grapples with deadly mass shootings and a murder rate that is among the highest in the world. <\/p>\n
Sullivan\u2019s abduction comes two months after renowned Islamic cleric Muhsin Hendricks was shot dead by armed men in Bethelsdorp, also in the Eastern Cape province. <\/p>\n
Sullivan, who describes himself as \u201ca church planting missionary,\u201d arrived in South Africa in 2018 with plans to \u201cfinish language school \u2026 and plant a church to the Xhosa speaking people,\u201d he said on his website. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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