Malawi police rescue kidnapped British woman after exchange of gunfire

BLANTYRE, Sept 18 - Malawi police said they had rescued a British woman who was kidnapped last week, in an intelligence-led operation in which the kidnappers were shot and later died.

• Police said 47-year-old British national Nusrat Osman was abducted by four unidentified men in the city of Blantyre's Mount Pleasant suburb on September 11.

• She was rescued on Thursday and reunited with her family, the Malawi Police Service said in a statement dated September 17.

• The motive of the kidnapping is not clear.

• The operation to rescue Osman involved an exchange of fire between police and the kidnappers, who were armed with an AK-47 rifle and a pistol.

• The kidnappers were shot during the operation and later died in hospital from their injuries.

• The senior police officer who was wounded is in hospital in a stable condition.

• Investigations into the kidnapping are continuing. REUTERS