Local authorities in Nigeria's northwestern state of Katsina have confirmed that a military operation had rescued some 76 hostages, many of them children, who were being held by "bandits." The group were freed after a series of precision airstrikes on group's camp. Nasir Mu'azu, state commissioner for internal security, said airstrikes are now "part of a broader strategy to dismantle criminal hideouts, weaken their networks and put an end to the cycle of killings, kidnappings, and extortion that have plagued innocent citizens."