Taliban target girl leaves hospital

A Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban has been discharged from hospital.

Malala Yousafzai, 15, was targeted for backing women's rights to education in her home country and later flown to the UK for specialist care.

British doctors have been delighted with her recovery, which will continue at her family's temporary home in the West Midlands.

Malala left the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham (QEHB) after doctors decided she was well enough to be treated as an outpatient.

She will visit the hospital regularly to attend clinical appointments and is due to return for cranial reconstructive surgery in the next few weeks.

Dave Rosser, medical director at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Malala is a strong young woman and has worked hard with the people caring for her to make excellent progress in her recovery.

"Following discussions with Malala and her medical team, we decided that she would benefit from being at home with her parents and two brothers. She will return to the hospital as an outpatient and our therapies team will continue to work with her at home to supervise her onward care."

Malala left hospital as it emerged that she was likely to secure permanent residence in the UK after her father was granted a job with the Pakistani consulate in Birmingham.

Ziauddin Yousafzai has been appointed education attache for three years, with the option of an extension for a further two years. He and his daughter have had threats made against their lives by the Taliban since the shooting.

The Pakistani High Commission's decision makes it more likely Malala and her family will remain in Britain long-term.