Troops Kill Scores Of Bandits; Rescue Over 100 Kidnapped Victims In Niger

Gallant Nigerian military officers have made a major breakthrough in its war against terrorism, Vanguard reports.

This comes as scores of bandits were killed and about 100 kidnapped victims were rescued in Niger state.

The Military it was gathered had stormed some forests in the state where some of the kidnappers had kept the victims for some months expecting the demanded ransom.

The operation was coming after an Army Major, four Soldiers and some  vigilante members were ambushed and  killed by the bandits at Itu in Munya Local Government area of the State about a week ago.

Vanguard correspondent reliably gathered that the Military stormed the forests in about 20 vehicles from Kaduna state on Monday.

Some of the hideouts raided by the Military included Pole wire, Zagzaga, Kazai, Tshohon Kabula and Mangoro.  The Soldiers were said to have engaged the gunmen in a fierce gun battle during which scores of the bandits were felled by the bullets and the rescue of the victims.

Those rescued according to the source had spent over four months in the forests and they include mostly women and children.

“From what happened, the bandits suffered heavy casualties from the army. Some of them who could not escape with their bullet wounds were captured alive and whisked away by the Army,” a reliable Source from the area confided in our Correspondent.

All those rescued have been taken to Military medical facilities in Kaduna for profiling, medical checkup after which they will be released to their relations.

It would be recalled that bandits had been raiding some Communities in Munya, Paikoro and Rafi local government areas of the state continuously in the past few months during which no fewer than sixty  people were abducted about three weeks ago.

Last Monday, five of the victims were executed by the bandits for not meeting the demand of the ransom demanded.

They have also threatened to execute the remaining victims instalmentally if their relatives and members of the Communities fail to meet up the demand of N100 million ransom demanded for their release.