A British woman abducted in Malawi nearly a week ago has been rescued in a police raid that killed four suspected kidnappers and left a senior officer wounded.
Nusrat Osman, 47, was freed on Thursday during an operation on the outskirts of Blantyre, in southern Malawi, police said.
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Officers exchanged fire with the suspects, who were allegedly carrying an AK-47 rifle and a pistol.
“The criminals got shot and were rushed to the hospital where they succumbed to the injuries,” the Malawi Police Service said in a statement.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Noel Kayira, who took part in the operation, was also shot. He is receiving hospital treatment and was in a stable condition, according to the police statement.
Osman was reunited with her family after the rescue before being taken to hospital for treatment and physical and mental health assessments, local media reported.
Her younger brother, Shobi Jiwa, thanked the Malawian police for bringing her home. Speaking to the UK’s Sun newspaper, he said the family was deeply grateful for the force’s work to investigate the kidnapping.
Jiwa also praised Kayira, calling the wounded police chief the family’s “hero” for risking his life during the operation to save Osman.
Police have not released the identities of the four suspects killed in the raid or explained how officers tracked them down.
Four unidentified men abducted Osman in Blantyre’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood on 11 September.
According to police, she was driving home when the men blocked her vehicle, forced her into a separate car and drove away.
The abduction triggered a wide-ranging search. Authorities offered 30 million Malawian kwacha ($17,000; £12,500) for information leading to Osman’s rescue and the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Osman is from Leicester in the UK but has lived in Malawi for several years, where she works for an auditing firm. She is married and has two young children.
The UK Foreign Office previously told the BBC that it was aware of reports that a British national had been abducted in Malawi and was liaising with local authorities.
The case had confounded investigators because police said no ransom demand or other communication from the kidnappers had been reported after Osman’s disappearance.
Her family made emotional public appeals for her safe return, calling the disappearance deeply distressing and asking anyone with information to contact the police.
The kidnapping also unsettled Malawi’s business community and British nationals living in the southern African country, where abductions involving foreign nationals are relatively rare.
Police have not disclosed a possible motive or said whether they suspect others were involved in the abduction.
They said inquiries were continuing to establish the full circumstances of the kidnapping and the operation that led to Osman’s rescue.
Authorities have urged the public to remain calm as the investigation continues.
