Troops of Joint Taskforce, Northwest Operation Hadarin Daji, in the early hours of Monday rescued 15 kidnapped victims in Zamfara state.
The troops acted on an intelligence report about the abduction of an unspecified number of innocent persons from Kayan Boggo village under Bukkuyum Local Government Area of the North-West state.
A top military source told Channels Television that the troops mobilised and established a blocking position at a possible exit route for the suspects.
According to the source, a gun duel ensued forcing the bandits to flee and abandon the 15 victims while an unspecified number of the bandits were neutralised.
The freed abductees were handed over to the district head of Gwashi to reunite them with their families.