Eighteen months after he was taken into captivity, Father Tom Uzhannalil, a priest from Kottayam in Kerala who was kidnapped by Yemeni militants from Aden, has been released, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced on Tuesday.

“I am happy to inform that Father Tom Uzhunnalil has been rescued,” Ms. Swaraj posted on her Twitter account. Since his abduction Ms. Swaraj has made several statements on the government’s efforts to rescue his release, as they have been able to do in other such cases, including the release of an aid worker from Afghanistan.

The Omani government confirmed in a statement on the Sultanate’s information ministry website that the priest was recovering in Muscat after being rescued, and posted photographs of the priest bearded, and looking frail, and standing by an airplane.

“In response to the Royal Orders of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said and as per a request from the Vatican to assist in the rescuing of a Vatican employee, the concerned authorities in the Sultanate, in coordination with the Yemeni authorities, have managed to find a Vatican government employee. He was transferred this morning to Muscat in preparation for his return home,” the Omani government said in the statement.

Father Tom Uzhunnalil was abducted in March 2016 when four gunmen posing as relatives of one of the residents of a Missionaries of Charity home in Aden burst inside, killing four Indian nuns, two Yemeni female staff members, eight elderly residents and a guard.

Since then, his kidnappers, who have not been identified released two videos of him, that showed him pleading for his life, leading to speculation they were mercenaries looking for a ransom.

Concerns about Father Tom grew in March this year when reports of his being taken into captivity by ISIS emerged, and an online report claimed he would be “crucified” on Good Friday (March 25th).

However, in April, his kidnappers released another video showing him alive, where he made another plea, including to Pope Francis at the Vatican. “My health condition is deteriorating quickly and I require hospitalisation as early as possible,” he added in the recording.

In July this year, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who had repeatedly assured Father Tom’s relatives of the government’s efforts to release him, also met with Abdulmalik Abduljalil Al-Mekhlafi, deputy prime minister of Yemen in Delhi, where he confirmed that Father Tom was alive.

“EAM stressed the Government’s concern for the safety and well-being of Father Tom Uzhunnallil…. The Yemeni Deputy PM conveyed that as per available information, Father Tom was alive and the Yemen Government has been making all efforts to secure his release. He assured all cooperation in this regard,” said the MEA statement about the meeting on July 12th.

The Omani government said Mr. Uzhannalil release had been secure with “Omani help” and that the “Vatican priest expressed thanks to God Almighty and appreciation to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. He also thanked his brothers and sisters and all relatives and friends who called on God for safety and release.”