Soldier, 2 cops killed in Saminaka bank attack

Residents said the gunmen stormed the area in the early hours of yesterday shooting and throwing explosives which led to the death of the three security men.
“They came when many of us were asleep. The gunshots and explosions woke us up. Many people have to run out of their houses to the bushes because of the gunshots which lasted for several hours,” a resident said.
A woman whose house is   closed to the commercial banks and a Police Station in Saminaka said a soldier and two policemen were killed in the attack while money was also carted away by the gunmen from an ATM machine.
“They came shooting and throwing explosives, killed three security men and stole huge sums of money from the banks and left,” she said.
Another resident told Weekly Trust that the gunmen first attacked the house of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Saminaka to distract the security men in the area before moving to the banks.
“The security men also killed one of the gunmen, but the bandits picked his body up and left,” a security source said.
Lere Local government chairman, Abdulkarim Lazuru could not be reached for comment as his mobile phone was switched off.
Kaduna State Police Commissioner, Mr. Olufemi Adenaike confirmed the killings of two cops and a soldier in the attack, saying the assailants were suspected to be armed robbers. “Nobody has been arrested but one of the gunmen was seriously injured.”
Weekly Trust reports that two banks were attacked two years ago in the same Saminaka.