By TOM CHIAHEMEN, Abuja –
At least 120 armed bandits were eliminated in multiple airstrikes executed by the Nigerian Airforce (NAF) fighter jets at Sububu Forest in Zamfara State, PRNigeria has reported.
This came as security operatives also rescued one out of the 121 kidnapped students of Bethel Baptist Secondary school in the Chikun Local Government Area and 2 others in Kaduna on Tuesday.
Spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command, Mohammed Jalige, said in a statement that the student, Abraham Aniya, was rescued by security operatives along with two other kidnap victims who were abducted by bandits some days ago along the Kaduna-Kachia road.
According to Jalige, the police operatives, alongside men of the Civilian JTF on routine patrol, rescued the three kidnap victims while they were roaming inside the forest at Tshohon Gaya village in Chikun LGA, extremely exhausted and weak.
The airstrikes by the NAF fighter jects, according to the online medium, were executed, on Monday, after some locals alerted security personnel on the arrival and movements of a large number of bandits within Sububu axis.
It quoted an intelligence operative as saying that a reconnaissance aircraft was deployed for spotting, collection of imagery and observation of the bandits before precision airstrikes were carried out on the targets.
“Following an intelligence, on 12 July 2021, that groups of bandits were amassing around SUBUBU, JAJANI and DAMMAKA, a reconnaissance aircraft was dispatched to recce the area for confirmation before carrying out the airstrikes.
“Accordingly, the A-Jet conducted air recce over the said locations and observed several bandits arriving in droves and taking cover over large trees at the southwestern part of SUBUBU settlement. These targets were subsequently engaged and hit.
“The few surviving bandits were seen fleeing the area. It is estimated that over 125 bandits were neutralized in the attack based on the information we received from our sources around the area,” he said.
PRNigeria also quoted NAF spokesperson, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, as havind confirmed the multiple airstrikes on the hideouts of the bandits, and the destruction of their motorcycles.
He, however, did not give further details on the human casualties recorded.
Commodore Gabkwet only specified that the military carried out “the precision airstrikes on the armed bandits after an intelligence and identification of the locations to avoid collateral damages.”
Nigerian troops under Operation Hadarin Daji, comprising operatives of the Nigerian military, security and intelligences services are jointly involved in fight against bandits in North-West.
Leave a Reply