Malawi Police Rescue Kidnapped British Woman; Four Suspects Killed in Shootout

Malawian police have rescued a British woman who was kidnapped in the southern city of Blantyre last week, in an operation that left four suspects dead and a senior officer wounded.

The woman, 47-year-old Nusrat Osman, was reported safe and has been reunited with her family, the Malawi Police Service said in a statement. She is a mother of two young children who reportedly works for an auditing firm in the country, and British media have reported that she is originally from Leicester.

According to police, the four suspected kidnappers were armed with an AK-47 rifle and a pistol when they were fatally shot in an exchange of fire with officers. A senior Malawian police officer was wounded in the operation and was in stable condition in hospital.

Osman was abducted around lunchtime on Sept. 11. Police had said they were searching for four men who used a gray car to carry out the kidnapping, and that the motive was not clear. The suspects had not contacted her family or the authorities.

Authorities had offered a reward of about $17,000 for information leading to Osman's rescue and the arrest and conviction of those responsible. Police said they were still investigating the motive behind the abduction.