The FBI announced on Monday that it had rescued 168 children from prostitution during its week-long annual enforcement program, Operation Cross Country VIII, which underscores the country's commitment to fight against child trafficking, according to a press release by the FBI.

The operation, jointly conducted by the FBI, local, state and federal authorities, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), concentrated on target mediums including casinos, truck stops and online dating or escort services across 106 cities nationwide.

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The children, majority of whom were recovered in FBI divisions in Denver, Cleveland, Ohio, Chicago and Atlanta, were to be given medical and psychological support, the FBI said.

Additionally, it was also announced that 281 pimps were arrested on violations of local and state laws including prostitution or solicitation. Further investigations are expected to yield more information on organized prostitutions rings that exploit women and children, the press release said.

"Targeting and harming America's children through commercial sex trafficking is a heinous crime with serious consequences," FBI director James B. Comey said.

"These are not faraway kids in faraway lands. These are America's children," he added.

He said last week's operations included the highest participation of U.S. cities and that there were increased trafficking incidences done online rather than on street corners.

Some officials pointed out that one of the more pressing problems with regard to prostitution trafficking was that many of the children recovered were never reported missing by their guardians, Fox News learned.

"No one is reporting them missing. We cannot find them if no one reports them missing," said CEO of the NCMEC, John Ryan.

He said that there is a need for stricter regulations that would require child welfare services to report missing children, speculating that the lack of a missing persons report may indicate that the child had done it previously or that families believe that the child would return.

Operation Cross Country was established in 2003 by the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division as part of the Innocence Lost National Initiative in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice and the NCMEC.

The operation accounts for nearly 3,600 rescued children, 1,450 convictions and the confiscation of at least $3.1 million in assets since it began eight years ago.

TagsOperation Cross Country VIII, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, FBI, Innocence Lost National Initiative, US Department of Justice, child-trafficking, sex trafficking, prostitution, missing children