An American pastor kidnapped by armed men during a church service in South Africa has been freed following a "high-intensity shoot-out" that left three people dead, police say. Josh Sullivan was found unharmed in the township in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday evening - the area where the 45-year-old was taken last Thursday.

The American pastor kidnapped at gunpoint last week in South Africa was rescued late Tuesday in a “high-stakes” shootout that left three people dead.

Josh Sullivan, a U.S. pastor kidnapped at gunpoint while delivering a sermon in his church in South Africa Thursday evening has been rescued in a shootout that left three suspects dead, authorities say.