A church pastor and three other Christians were killed in Sudan last week when suspected Islamic extremists shot them to death, an area source said.

Four of the victims’ travelling companions were wounded when the assailants opened fire on the team at the facility where they were spending the night in Kadugli, capital of Sudan’s South Kordofan state.

Sudanese-American Pastor Ibrahim Kandr, Ismail Osman, Bashir Almaak and Ayoub Ibrahim were spending the night in Kadugli en route to their home area of Um Durein when the assailants shot them between 3am and 4am, an area church leader said.

Islamic extremists, who have been terrorising people in the area since 2011, monitor movements in and out of town and likely saw the ministry team arrive for the night, said the church leader, whose name is withheld for security reasons.