The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Monday said its Special Forces (SF) Team operating in Zamfara state repelled an attack by armed bandits who attempted to invade Hayin Mahe and Hayin Kanawa villages in Gusau local government area.
A statement from Air Force spokesman, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said the operation, which took place on 31 March 2019, was conducted after intelligence reports indicating that the bandits, operating from Sububu and Kagara Forests, had attacked the villages and kidnapped some of its inhabitants.
He said the timely response of the SF Team resulted in a gun duel with the bandits who eventually fled into the forest.
He said, “The gallant NAF SF personnel pursued the bandits into the forest, overpowering them and neutralizing 5 bandits, while many others were observed to have run away with various gunshot wounds.”
He said, “Three AK-47 rifles with magazines were recovered in the process. Some villagers, who were kidnapped by the fleeing bandits, including two women and a child, were freed and handed over to the District Head of Mada Town.”
Daramola said, in a follow-up operation, the NAF SF Team returned to the communities to prevent reprisal attacks by the criminals as well as reassure the populace of their safety.
He said, ‘the Team, supported by a NAF Alpha Jet and attack helicopters, tracked the fleeing armed bandits to their hideouts within Sububu Forest.”
He said the Alpha Jet successfully attacked the armed bandits’ camps while the helicopters scanned the environs for fleeing elements.
He said, “the local populace were seen expressing confidence by cheering at the helicopters overhead their communities.”
He added that the NAF, working in close coordination with sister Services and other security agencies, will sustain its operations to neutralize the armed bandits and deny them freedom of action in the area.
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