Abducted Indian priest rescued from Yemen. The priest had been held captive for over 17 months by the ISIS. External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted, "I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued."


Father Tom Uzhunnalil, an Indian Catholic priest, abducted by the ISIS in strife-torn Yemen, had made several video appeals for urgent help after getting a "poor response" from authorities, saying his health was deteriorating quickly and required hospitalisation.


Father Tom, 58, who hails from Kerala, was abducted in March last year by a terror group. He had gone missing in Yemen after the Islamic State militant group attacked a care home run by Mother Teresas Missionaries of Charity.


Gunmen had stormed the refuge for the elderly in April last year and killed a Yemeni guard before tying up and shooting 15 other employees. Four foreign nuns, including an Indian, working as nurses were among those killed.


Father Tom was captured from the southern Yemeni city of Aden by gunmen who killed at least 15 people at an old people's home in an attack that was condemned by Pope Francis.