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Six people held hostage by armed bandits in Nigeria’s northwestern state of Katsina have been rescued in a military operation, the army said.

The rescue followed a fierce gun battle between the military and the bandits in a forest, Wama Idris, a senior army commander based in northern Katsina, said on Tuesday at a brief ceremony where he handed over the victims to the state government.

He said 11 people were kidnapped but the forces managed to rescue only six.

The army would comb the forests to free the remaining five victims, Idris said.