The Armed Forces of Nigeria on Monday said its troops under Operation WHIRL STROKE in Northcentral Nigeria killed three bandits in Tsehombe-Adaka village, Benue State.
Earlier on Sunday, the military also said the air component of similar operation, Operation THUNDER STRIKE destroyed a camp and “neutralized scores of armed bandits” in air strikes executed at the Kuduru Forest area of Kaduna State.
Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, said in a statement on Monday that “troops of Sector one, Operation WHIRL STROKE, yesterday, 6 December, 2020 responded to a distress call from Local vigilante members reporting ongoing attack by suspected armed herdsmen on Tsehombe-Adaka village.
“Troops immediately mobilized to the location leading to a shootout between troops and armed bandits. The gallant troops overwhelmed the bandits by superior firepower, following which troops successfully neutralised 3 of the armed bandits while others escaped with gunshot wounds. Troops recovered one AK 47 rifle loaded with one magazine containing 5 rounds of 7.62mm Special ammunition.”
General Enenche said that apart from “aggressive patrols” to deter further attacks, the troops are pursuing to “locate and neutralise other bandits that might still be hibernating in the area.”
On Sunday, the Defence Spokesperson stated that the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) provided close air support to the Nigeria Police in a joint offensive operation to clear identified bandits’ hideouts in the Kofa Area of Kaduna State.
He further explained that “the air interdiction mission at Kuduru Forest was carried out sequel to credible intelligence reports indicating that the group of heavily armed bandits responsible for a previous attack on troops at Ngede Allah had originated from a camp within the Forest.
“Accordingly, following confirmatory Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions that led to the identification of the camp, the Air Component dispatched Nigerian Air Force (NAF) attack aircraft to engage the location scoring devastating hits which destroyed the bandits’ logistics structures and killed several of the criminals.
“The NAF attack aircraft and an ISR platform later provided close air support as the Police advanced from Sarki Pawa through Tawali towards Kofa area. The attack aircraft engaged the bandits at the objective, ahead of the ground forces, while the ISR aircraft provided situational awareness throughout the operation.”
