Jos, Nigeria: Several of 14 people who were kidnapped on Wednesday in Nigeria's central Benue State have been rescued, local police said.
Kidnappings for ransom are common in Nigeria, but Africa's most populous country has been faced a surge of such attacks for months, particularly in the northern half of the country.
Such attacks are carried out by criminal gangs known as 'bandits' and by jihadists.
Benue State is in a region which regularly faces tensions between Muslim Fulani herders and predominantly Christian farmers over land and natural resources.
"In a coordinated joint security operation involving the police and other sister security agencies, operatives are conducting a targeted search-and-rescue mission in Amla Forest and adjoining areas," Benue state police spokesman Udeme Edet said in a statement late Friday.
"The operation has led to the successful rescue of some of the victims, who are currently receiving medical attention."
Edet did not specify the number of people rescued but added that seven suspects have also been arrested.
Police also clarified the kidnapped individuals were not students headed for a university entrance exam, as originally reported, but passengers on a bus bound for the city of Makurdi.
