Nigerian authorities have said the victims were abducted in a deadly mosque attack in Katsina State last week

At least 76 kidnapping victims, including women and children, have been rescued by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) after a precision air strike on the hideout of a notorious bandit in northwest Katsina State, authorities in Africa's most populous country have reported.

The strikes on Saturday at Pauwa Hill in Kankara Local Government Area targeted a gang leader known as Babaro, who had carried out a deadly attack on a mosque in the town of Malumfashi last week, the Katsina State Internal Security Ministry said in a statement.

According to the ministry, the rescued victims included all those abducted during the mosque attack, which left at least 50 people dead.

"However, it was regrettably noted that one child tragically lost his life during the ordeal," it announced.

The West African country has long grappled with kidnappings carried out by criminal gangs and terrorist groups, particularly in the northwest and north-central regions. Such attacks have surged in recent months, defying government security measures that include routine army bombing raids against terror groups.

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Earlier this month, at least 45 women and children were abducted when armed men raided five villages overnight in Zamfara State. Days before, gunmen on motorbikes had killed 11 people and seized 70 others in Sabongarin Damri, in what local media described as the largest kidnapping this year.

In late July, 38 people taken from Banga village, also in Zamfara, were killed by their kidnappers despite a ransom payment of more than 50 million naira (about $33,000).

On Saturday, Katsina State Commissioner for Internal Security Nasir Mu'azu said the NAF air strike was "part of a broader strategy to dismantle criminal hideouts, weaken their networks, and put an end to the cycle of killings, kidnappings, and extortion that have plagued innocent citizens."

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In a separate statement on Saturday, the Nigerian Armed Forces said it had killed more than 35 suspected jihadists in air strikes on targets in Kumshe, in Borno State near the country's border with Cameroon. The insurgents had converged on the area after attempted attacks on ground troops, NAF spokesperson Ehimen Ejodame said.

(RT.com)