Scores of bandits killed as Joint Security Task Force launches fresh airstrikes in Niger

From John Adams Minna

The Nigerian Airforce has carried out multiple airstrikes on locations where bandits reside in Tshohon Kabula community in Munya Local Government, Niger State, killing unspecified number of bandits.

The bandits were said to be the remnants of those who engaged the state joint security taskforce in Gwada community of Shiroro LGA in a gun battle on Sunday evening where a number of bandits were killed.

It was gathered from a security source that the escaped bandits made a retreat to Tshohon Kabula through Zagzaga village, where they usually converged after every attack.

According to a local source close to Tshohon Kabula, the airstrikes on the bandits location were  carried out this morning (Monday) at about 9:00am, leaving scores of them dead and several others managed to escape  with various degree of injuries from the strikes.

It was gathered that on Sunday evening, the bandits in their numbers, stormed a suburb of Gwada community on their way to Egwa village for an undisclosed mission when the state joint security taskforce mobilized, and engaged them in a fierce gun battle which lasted several hours.

According to another  source close to Gwada community, it took a  reinforcement of the joint security taskforce from Erena to be to overcome the bandits who were in their large numbers.

Three of the Joint security taskforce were injured in the gun battle, while the Shiroro local government Chairman, Hon. Akilu Isyaku Kuta, who ran into the bandits at Egwa on his way to the council headquarters in Kuta, escaped being killed by the bandits.

The escape of the Chairman is coming barely two days after his counsellor representing Allawa ward, Mallam Sale Yakubu, was gunned down by the gunmen when he tried to escape after he ran into them on his to Allawa town.

It was reliably gathered from a source close to Zumba community that the security agents were put on alert on planned invasion by the bandits before the Sunday evening attack.

Both the state government and the police were yet issue a statement on the latest attack as at the time of filing this reports.