Dozens of children freed after new abduction in Nigeria —police

KANO, Nigeria — Local vigilantes rescued dozens of schoolchildren abducted by bandits in the northern Nigerian state of Katsina after a gun battle, police said Sunday.

Gunmen had abducted about 80 children on Saturday as they returned to Mahuta village after having attended a religious ceremony, said police spokesman Gambo Isah, of Katsina state police.

The incident came barely 48 hours after the release of 344 schoolboys kidnapped from a boarding school by bandits and held for six days. — Agence France-Presse