Nigeria’s army has said it safely rescued 33 people after they were kidnapped by armed men while travelling through the country’s north-western Zamfara state.

The army said its troops mobilised alongside the police immediately after hearing about the abduction, in the Tsafe area of Zamfara on Saturday afternoon.

The military found the kidnappers in the process of moving the hostages to an unknown location, the army said, and the gunmen fled into the nearby bush after coming under fire.

Kidnappings by armed groups who hold people for ransom are common in parts of north-western Nigeria and major roads have become targets for attacks.

Analysts say ransom payments by desperate families, intermediaries or, in some cases, Nigerian authorities have fuelled the abductions.

Nigerian army spokesman Lt-Col Aliyu Danja said it was unclear where the abductors were moving their hostages when troops intercepted them, adding that the army was now attempting to track the kidnappers.

“The troops engaged the terrorists with effective fire, forcing them to abandon the victims and flee into adjoining bushes,” he said, noting that all the hostages had been recovered without any casualties.