ABUJA, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian troops have rescued six high school students who were abducted by gunmen in Nigeria's northern state of Kaduna, the army said on Friday.
The students of Government Day Secondary School in Gwagwada, a town in the Chikun area of the state, were abducted on their way to school on Thursday morning.
Confirming their rescue, Col. Ezindu Idimah, a spokesman for the army in Kaduna, said troops combed the forests in the area and freed the hostages later in the day.
All the students abducted by the gunmen were rescued safely and reunited with their families, Idimah said.
According to him, the troops killed four of the gunmen during a crossfire that ensued during the rescue operation. Many other members of the gang fled with gunshot wounds, he said.
Kidnapping and gunmen attacks frequently hit the headlines in the most populous African country.
The abduction early Thursday was one of several similar incidents targeting schools and students in Kaduna, in the past week.
On October 3, some six schoolgirls and two of their teachers were also taken away by gunmen who stormed a privately-run secondary school in the same Chikun local government area of Kaduna.
Those hostages are yet to be freed by their abductors, who had already demanded ransom, according to the school authorities.
Also on Thursday, a group of unidentified gunmen attacked a secondary school in Kajuru area of Kaduna, abducting the principal of the school, local police had told Xinhua.
