Ten soldiers have been confirmed dead, while the bodies of 213 terrorists/bandits were recovered, in a battle between troops of the Nigerian Army, backed by fighter aircraft of the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, and terrorists in some Zamfara communities.
Military sources disclosed that aside from the soldiers killed, an unspecified number of civilians were killed, particularly by the terrorists, who felt they provided information to troops.
Recall that the air component of Operation Hadarin Daji also eliminated scores of terrorists in Malele Village of Dansadau Local Government Area of Zamfara State during the onslaught which began on Saturday.
Sources disclosed that villages including Malele, Maigoge, Yan Sawayu, Ruwan Tofa, Mai Awaki, and Zama Lafiya, all under Mutunji district of Dansadau Emirate Council were under siege by the terrorists for not paying ransom money expected, to be allowed to go to the farm.
Consequently, the GOC 8 division which doubles as Commander, Operation Hadarin Daji and NAF Component mobilised troops and launched a series of attacks and airstrikes against the bandits/terrorists emerging from different parts including Katsina, and Niger states.
The source said “Both the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Air Force (NAF) operations are yielding fantastic results in the area with several terrorists being eliminated as the battle is still on.
“Bandits who were fleeing from NAF airstrikes ran into a small village called Mutunji to take refuge.
“After ensuring that civilian lives in the village were not at risk, the NAF aircraft undertook a precision strike at the exact location while the ground troops cleared the fleeing bandits in their escape bids”.
Giving an update yesterday, sources said 10 soldiers were killed in the line of battle when they ran into an ambush before fighter aircraft neutralized the terrorists.
“We counted 213 bodies of the bandit/terrorists and their collaborators. Some civilians too were killed in what the military called ‘collateral damage’ others were killed by the terrorists for allegedly giving information to the bandits.
“The attack on troops occurred when the troops with the support of local vigilantes were navigating the terrains for counter-attacks.”
