ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigerian troops have rescued 33 people who were abducted while traveling in Zamfara state, in the northwestern part of the country, an army statement on Sunday said.

A military operation was launched after unidentified gunmen kidnapped the group as they traveled through the Tsafe area of Zamfara on Saturday, army spokesman Aliyu Danja said in a statement. He did not say which group was behind the attack.

“The troops engaged the terrorists with effective fire, forcing them to abandon the victims and flee into adjoining bushes,” Danja said. “The troops then secured and rescued all 33 abducted persons.”

The army is working to track the “fleeing terrorists,” he added.

Zamfara has seen a surge in killings and abductions in recent months. At least 32 people were killed in separate attacks in the state in June alone.

Apart from the conflict in the northwest and north-central regions of the West African country, an insurgency in the northeast has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others, according to the United Nations.

Despite repeated promises by President Bola Tinubu to address the crisis, security challenges in Africa’s most populous country have continued to deteriorate.