ABUJA, Nigeria

Nigeria neutralized 140 terrorists in operations against the Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terror groups as well as gang members last week, an official said Thursday.

Edward Buba, the director of defense media operations for the Nigerian Ministry of Defense, provided information at a weekly press conference about their efforts to combat escalating security issues in the country.

Buba noted that operations targeting terrorist organizations and armed gang members were carried out across various regions of the country within the week.

He said that 140 terrorists and armed gang members were killed during the operations while 135 others were captured.

Buba said that 76 people being held for ransom were also rescued during the operations.

Nigeria has long been facing attacks from armed gangs as well as Boko Haram and ISWAP in various regions of the country.

Despite the death penalty being enforced for kidnapping crimes, incidents of abduction for ransom are still common.

Armed perpetrators typically target villages, schools and travelers in the northern part of the country to demand ransom.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul