Nigerian troops have freed 62 hostages – and killed two militants in a separate operation – as part of an ongoing offensive against armed gangs, the army has said.
Army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyi Osoba said troops stormed a known bandit hideout in Zamfara after receiving reports that captives were being held there.
All 62 hostages were rescued and are in safe custody, with efforts under way to reunite them with their families.
In a separate operation, troops ambushed Lakurawa militants near the border between Kebbi’s Augie district and neighbouring Sokoto after receiving intelligence on the group’s movements.
Mass kidnappings are increasingly common in Nigeria, with armed gangs targeting remote communities where security and government presence is limited.
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On Sunday, armed bandits kidnapped more than 150 Christians in simultaneous attacks on a number of churches in the west African country.
The attacks occurred in Kurmin Wali, a community in the Kajuru area of Kaduna state in northern Nigeria, while church services were under way.
In November, gunmen abducted more than 300 pupils and 12 staff from a Catholic school in Niger state.
Some of the victims managed to escape while others were rescued. The remaining 130 children being held were freed just before Christmas.
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The attacks on churches have sparked claims of religious persecution by US President Donald Trump and others, although the Nigerian government says the security crisis is not a “Christian genocide”.
Nonetheless, on Christmas Day, US strikes rained down near Sokoto – a Muslim-majority city in the north of the country – allegedly targeting an Islamic State group in what Mr Trump called a “Christmas present”.
