Nigeria: Bandits Suffer Heavy Casualty As Troops Kill Scores Of Them

Bandits operating along the dreaded Abuja-Kaduna way in the restive northern part of Nigeria suffered heavy casualty as the country’s troops killed scores of them on Tuesday.

The army revealed this on Wednesday, saying that it’s land and air components of Operation THUNDER STRIKE, on Tuesday, killed scores of the armed bandits in a joint offensive operation along that Kaduna-Abuja expressway.

Major General John Enenche, Coordinator of Defence Media Operations, (CDMO), in an operation update released in Abuja, said the operation was conducted to clear identified bandits’ camp around Kuku area of Kagarko Local Government Area along the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway axis of Kaduna State.
“The operation was executed yesterday, 17 November 2020, on the heels of credible Human Intelligence reports indicating that a cluster of huts and other structures at the location served as a hideout for a notorious bandits’ leader, named “Major”, along with his fighters.

“The first wave of the air component’s airstrikes, which involved six Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft undertaking five missions in a total of 13 sorties, commenced at dawn and targeted the cluster of huts housing “Major”. 
“The attack aircraft hit some of the target structures and neutralized some of the bandits”, the update stated.

General Enenche said the second wave of attacks was executed by NAF helicopter gunships which, while continuing to engage the bandits’ location, also provided close air support to the Land Component as they advanced from Kagarko via Kuku into the bandits’ enclave.
“This paved way for the ground troops to overrun and destroy the camp without effective resistance from the bandits. 
“A NAF Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft remained airborne providing situational awareness for the troops throughout the operation”, he said.
The Military High Command commended the land and air components for their professionalism and urged them to remain resolute in the conduct of operations in order to eradicate all armed bandits.

The defense operations spokesman said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria also appreciated the continued support and cooperation of all well-meaning Nigerians, as it keeps up the tempo of operations to defeat all enemies of the nation.