Three soldiers killed as bandits attack Niger village

The Nigerian Military says 3 soldiers of operation Operation Whirl Punch have been killed and 2 others wounded while repelling an attack by armed bandits in Tashan Kare, Niger state.

The military however said the troops engaged the armed bandits with superior fire power killing unspecified number while others fled into the bushes.

John Enenche, Coordinator, Defence Media Operations (DMO), who disclosed this in a statement, said, “Following credible intelligence on the activities of armed bandits attack at Tashan Kare, in Niger State, troops swiftly mobilized to the scene and made contact with the bandits.

Earlier, the coordinator stated that the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation Lafiya Dole killed scores of terrorists and destroyed their hideouts and logistics structures at Tumbuma Baba and Boboshe in Borno State.

He said this was achieved in air strikes executed yesterday, 16 August 2020, on the first day of missions of a new subsidiary Operation codenamed “Hail Storm”, which is an air interdiction operation aimed at taking out identified Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram Terrorists’ (BHTs’) targets in the Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest areas of Borno State.

Enenche further explained that the attack at Tumbuma Baba was carried out after Human Intelligence (HUMINT) reports indicated that several ISWAP fighters and some of their leaders were harboured in some structures concealed under the thick vegetation of the area.

“The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets dispatched by the ATF to attack the location scored devastating hits on the settlement, killing several of the terrorists and destroying their structures.

“Several terrorists were similarly neutralized and some of their dwellings destroyed at Boboshe, a village along the river line on the Eastern part of the Sambisa Forest, as the NAF jets took turns in engaging the location”, he said.