ABUJA, Nigeria

The Nigerian army killed 10 terrorists in operations in the country’s northwestern states of Katsina and Zamfara, an official said Thursday.

Many terrorists escaped injured during the operations by troops of the Joint Task Force, North West Operation Hadarin Daji (OPHD), Ibrahim Yahaya, the spokesman for the operation, said in a statement.

Four children and five women were rescued during the operations, he added.

Nigeria has recently been facing attacks by armed gangs in different parts of the country as well as by the Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorist organizations.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar