Nigerian schoolchildren rescued, returning home

KADUNA, Nigeria — More than 130 Nigerian schoolchildren rescued after more than two weeks in captivity arrived Monday in their home state in northwestern Nigeria ahead of anticipated reunions with families, following the latest in a series of mass school abductions in the West African nation.

Six of the 137 students remain in hospital, and one staff member who was abducted along with the children died in captivity, military officials said.

The children were seized by motorcycle-riding gunmen at their school in the remote Kaduna state town of Kuriga on March 7, triggering a wide-ranging rescue operation. They were rescued Sunday by the military in a forest more than 120 miles to the north in neighboring Zamfara state.