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The airstrikes were launched on targets around Pauwa Hill,
located in the Kankara area of Katsina state, in the early hours
of Saturday, Nasir Mu’azu, the state’s commissioner for internal
security, said in a statement. The air assault was launched in a
manhunt for a notorious kidnapper.
The rescued hostages include some of those kidnapped during an
attack on a mosque in Unguwan Mantau that led to the death of at
least 50 people, the commissioner said.
“However, it was regrettably noted that one child tragically
lost his life during the ordeal,” Mu’azu said.
In recent months, there has been an uptick in attacks on
communities in the northwest and north-central regions of
Africa’s most populous country, where farmers often clash over
limited access to land and water. An attack last month in
north-central Nigeria killed 150 people.
The conflict has become deadlier in recent years, with
authorities and analysts warning that more herdsmen are taking
up more sophisticated arms.
The commissioner said the air assault is “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.”
The West African country is also dealing with an insurgency in
its northeast region that has resulted in the death of around
35,000 civilians and the displacement of more than 2 million
others, according to the United Nations.
Also on Saturday, separate airstrikes in the northwest of
Nigeria killed 35 militants in a targeted attack.
Despite the efforts by the government of President Bola Tinubu
to curb jihadi attacks, the militancy has persisted.
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