No fewer than six soldiers have been killed in a gun battle between government troops and suspected bandits in Bini Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The exchange of fire also led to the killing of 37 suspected bandits and rescue of 80 kidnapped persons.
This was disclosed in a statement by the acting Information Officer of Operation Saharan Daji, Major Clement Abiade.
The soldiers, the statement said, were returning to their base after a long-range patrol when the exchange of fire took place.
The victims, according to the spokesman, comprise men, women and children, rescued inside Dumburum Forest during the mop-up operations conducted by troops between February 4 and 14.
In the course of the operation, six suspected bandits and their allies were also arrested while several weapons, ammunition and rustled cattle were recovered from their camps.
The statement recalled that bandits carried out a series of attacks on communities in Zamfara State last year, leaving hundreds of innocent people killed and many injured, while some were kidnapped.
“The intensity and redoubled efforts in the conduct of military activities in the past months seem to be yielding tremendous successes, leading to the killing of some of the bandits, recovery of guns, ammunition and rustled cattle,” the statement added.
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