Gunmen have snatched nine pupils of an Islamic seminary in northern Nigeria's Katsina state, police said Thursday, in the latest of a string of school abductions.  

Motorbike-riding assailants, known locally as bandits, seized the children in the village of Sakki on Tuesday as they were heading home after school, said state police spokesman Gambo Isah. 

"Nine pupils were abducted," Isah told AFP, adding that the police were on the trail of the kidnappers. "All efforts are being made to rescue the children," he assured.