Ten soldiers have been killed and several others injured after bandits now designated as terrorists attacked a military base in Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Security sources stated that the attack happened at about 6:30pm on Monday. However, the military authorities have yet to confirm the attack.
The soldiers were attacked at an Army Forward Operational Base located around the Polwire area close to Mikati Farm along the Kaduna- Birnin Gwari Road.
Birnin-Gwari is one of the flashpoint of banditry in Kaduna, where many people were killed, thousands were kidnapped, and socioeconomic activities grounded in the past five years.
The source explained that the soldiers, who were few in number, were taken unaware by the terrorists who stormed the base in large numbers on motorcycles with sophisticated weapons and immediately opened fire on the soldiers.
The bandits were said to have kept watch on the movement of Nigerian soldiers and when some of them went out to the headquarters of the Forward Operational Base located inside Birnin-Gwari town, they immediately launched an attack on the few soldiers at the FOB extension.
The superior firepower of the bandits led to the death of about 10 soldiers, while a patrol vehicle was also destroyed during the attack.
Monday’s attack followed the abduction of 11 persons by bandits who attacked Angwar Maji community at Jere town in Kagarko Local Government Area of the state.
The attack occurred on Sunday night at the community located close to the Abuja-Kaduna Highway and the Kaduna- Bwari Road.
The terrorists struck barely a day after the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, announced the deployment of additional troops to the Abuja-Kaduna Highway and surrounding communities.
