British woman rescued in deadly Malawi shootout

Key Points:

• Nusrat Osman, a 47-year-old British woman kidnapped in Malawi nearly a week ago, was rescued during a police operation near Blantyre that resulted in four suspected kidnappers killed and a senior police chief wounded.
• The kidnappers, armed with an AK-47 and a pistol, were shot after exchanging fire with police; Deputy Inspector General Noel Kayira sustained gunshot injuries but is in stable condition.
• Osman was reunited with her family and taken to hospital for treatment and assessments; her family expressed deep gratitude to the Malawian police and hailed Kayira as a hero for risking his life.
• The kidnappers remain unidentified, and police have not disclosed how they located the group or the motive behind the abduction, which involved Osman being forced from her vehicle without any ransom demands or communication.
• Osman, originally from Leicester and living in Malawi for several years, works for an auditing firm and is married with two children; the case raised concern among the local business community and British nationals due to the rarity of such abductions in Malawi.