Gunmen kill six Nigerian soldiers in ambush, army says
Largely rural Shiroro, where the incident took place, is frequently attacked by armed gangs targeting villages and security personnel.
Six soldiers of the Nigerian army were ambushed and killed by gunmen while on patrol in the northern Niger state on Friday, the army said, the latest loss inflicted on the military by armed criminal gangs.
Beyond fighting militants in the northeast, Nigeria's military has been called upon to tackle the threat in the northern and central regions posed by criminal gangs who kill and kidnap villagers and schoolchildren.
Nigerian Army spokesperson Major General Onyema Nwachukwu said in a statement late on Sunday that troops of the 1st Division were on a fighting patrol in Karaga village in Niger's Shiroro local government area when they were ambushed.
Largely rural Shiroro is an area of Niger state where armed gangs, known locally as bandits, frequently attack villages and security personnel.
Nwachukwu said the troops were pursuing gunmen who had escaped after other members of the gang were killed by soldiers and their equipment captured. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh, Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe, Editing by Ros Russell)
Top Stories Today
- Kenya’s economic output rises 8 per cent to hit Sh16.22 trillion in 2024
- Five arrested after explosives hidden in milk carton are found on passenger bus
- Broken promises: Slum residents struggle for clean water as hygiene crisis deepens
- TSC begins search for new CEO as Nancy Macharia’s tenure nears end
- Explosions heard in Sudanese city of Port Sudan, witness says
- TSC declares over 2,000 teaching posts vacant in bid to fill staffing gaps
- I wasn't invited to elect Pope Francis' successor - Cardinal Njue
- Taxpayers to fund Sh2.3 billion State House, lodges facelift
- AU, IGAD step up efforts to revive South Sudan's stalled peace process
- Mombasa, Kilifi and Kwale among regions to be affected by power blackouts
- Papal conclave: All cardinals who will elect new pope arrive in Rome
- Sudan's RSF launches second drone attack in Port Sudan
- E-mobility drive: Kenya Power to install 45 EV charging stations
- National campaign launched to tackle GBV and femicide
- Bobi Wine aide brought to court limping, charged and remanded
- Congo, Rwanda submit draft peace proposal, Trump adviser says
- Inside Eastleigh SIM-swap heist: Sh3.2m stolen via fake accounts, IDs
- High Court halts order for Nyashinski to reveal Tecno deal in copyright row
- ICJ Kenya hails ruling declaring Worldcoin’s data collection unlawful
- Ministry sounds alarm as youth drug abuse spikes in 10 counties
