Abducted Nigerian schoolboys freed

More than 300 boys kidnapped a week ago from a boarding school in northern Katsina state reunited with their parents on Saturday. State Gov. Aminu Masari told local media that officials transported the 344 boys to the state capital to receive medical care before returning home. The gunmen stormed the all-boys Government Science Secondary School in the village of Kankara on Dec. 11.

How were they released? Masari said soldiers and government officials negotiated with the kidnappers and insisted the government did not pay any ransom. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the abduction, but government officials blamed regional bandits with a record of kidnapping. Another abduction of more than 80 students happened Saturday night in an area nearby, but the pupils were quickly rescued by security forces after a fierce gun battle, police announced Sunday.

Dig deeper: Read my earlier report in The Sift on the abduction.