POLICE RESCUE BRITISH WOMAN IN MALAWI, KILL FOUR SUSPECTS

Malawi police say they have rescued Nusrat Osman, a British woman abducted in Blantyre on 11 September, in an operation on Thursday that left four suspected kidnappers dead. Officers exchanged gunfire with the suspects on the outskirts of the city, the Malawi Police Service said. Deputy Inspector General of Police Noel Kayira was shot during the operation and remains in stable condition in hospital, police said. The force said the suspects "got shot and were rushed to the hospital where they succumbed to the injuries." Osman was reunited with her family and taken to hospital for treatment and assessment, according to reports.

Osman was abducted on 11 September in Blantyre's Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, police said. Four unidentified men blocked her vehicle as she drove home, forced her into another car and drove off, according to police. The suspects were armed with an AK-47 rifle and a pistol, police said. Authorities had offered a reward of 30 million Malawian kwacha, reported as around $17,000, or £12,500, for information leading to Osman's rescue and the conviction of those responsible. Osman, originally from Leicester, has lived in Malawi for several years and works for an auditing firm.

Police have not named the four suspected kidnappers killed in the rescue, nor said how officers located the group. The motive for the abduction remains unclear, and the suspects had made no contact with Osman's family or authorities before the operation, according to reports. Osman's brother, Shobi Jiwa, said the family was grateful to Malawian police for investigating the kidnapping. He described Kayira, the officer wounded during the rescue, as the family's "hero" for risking his life to save her.