At least 76 hostages, among them children, were freed on Saturday after Nigerian military airstrikes targeted militant camps in the northwest, local officials said. The operation struck hideouts around Pauwa Hill in Katsina state, in a manhunt for a notorious kidnapper. Authorities confirmed that some of the rescued were abducted in a recent mosque attack in Unguwan Mantau that left at least 50 people dead. Katsina state’s commissioner for internal security, Nasir Mu’azu, said one child lost his life during the rescue mission.

The military launched the assault in the early hours, using precision strikes to dismantle camps near Pauwa Hill in Kankara district. Officials said the action was part of a wider strategy to weaken armed groups that have plagued northwest Nigeria with kidnappings, extortion, and mass killings. The commissioner emphasized that the military’s goal was to disrupt criminal networks and end cycles of violence in rural communities.

In recent months, attacks have surged across northwest and north-central Nigeria, where conflicts between herders and farmers over land and water have intensified. Analysts warn that criminal groups are increasingly armed with sophisticated weapons. Last month, 150 people were killed in a single assault in north-central Nigeria.