Troops of Operation Whirl Punch and Operation Forest Sanity II have reportedly killed two bandits during clearance operations in the Rijana general area of Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State, News About Nigeria reports.
This was made known by the State Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, in a statement on Monday.
He noted that the troops had encountered some bandits and engaged in a gun duel in the Rijana area, killing two and leaving scores who escaped with gunshot wounds.
He also stated that various items and ammunition were recovered, including three AK-47 rifles, two motorcycles, two AK-47 magazines, 19 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, two mobile phones, and two MP3 players.
“According to operational feedback to the Kaduna State Government, the troops began their advance, clearing several locations, including Amale, Gidan Jatau, Gidan Danfulani, and Gidan Duna, with no resistance.
“As the forces progressed to Gidan Dutse, the troops made contact with bandits, and in the ensuing firefight, two of the criminals were neutralised while several escaped with gunshot wounds. The troops searched the area and recovered three AK-47 rifles, two motorcycles, two AK-47 magazines, 19 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, two mobile phones, and two MP3 players.
“The Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani, expressed satisfaction at the report and congratulated the troops for another sterling outing. The Governor praised the leadership of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General TA Lagbaja, and the unflinching morale of the troops in the ongoing operations,” he stated.
He urged citizens to continue to utilise the 24-hour Security Operations Room by volunteering actionable intelligence on the movement of bandits and their collaborators via the following lines-09034000060, 08170189999.
This is coming less than 24 hours after troops took a fighting patrol to the Kachia-Kajuru general area, where they encountered bloodthirsty bandits and killed five of them on Sunday.