At least 36 Nigerian troopers killed in ambush, helicopter crash

AUDU MARTE/ AFP [File picture]

At least 36 Nigerian troopers have been killed in two assaults throughout operations in opposition to armed gangs within the northern-central state of Niger, the army mentioned on Thursday.

Gangs of closely armed males have wreaked havoc throughout northwest Nigeria prior to now two years, kidnapping 1000’s, killing a whole lot and making it unsafe to journey by highway or to farm in some areas.

Defence spokesman Major-General Edward Buba mentioned the fatalities embody three officers and 22 troopers, with seven troopers wounded throughout an ambush round Kundu village within the Shiroro native authorities space in Niger state on August 14.

An Air Force Mi-171 helicopter dispatched to evacuate the casualties crashed close to Chukuba village in Shiroro on Monday, killing others.

While Buba did not affirm the reason for the crash, two army sources informed Reuters the helicopter was most likely introduced down after gang members shot at it.

“The helicopter crashed with 14 of the earlier killed in action personnel, seven of the earlier wounded in action personnel, two pilots and two crew members,” Buba mentioned in a press release.

“Operations are ongoing to recover the bodies and investigate the cause of the air crash which will be communicated,” he mentioned.

Attacks by gangs, typically referred to domestically as bandits, have confounded Nigeria’s safety forces, who’ve been stretched as they deal with a violent secessionist group within the east, a lethal herder-farmer disaster within the central states, and a 13-year insurgency in opposition to militant teams Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) within the north.

In a separate army operation in Kaduna state, troops rescued 10 hostages held in a village in Igabi native authorities of the state following a tipoff, killing their abductors after a gun battle, Buba mentioned.