Troops kill 15 bandits, arrest 48 in N/West, N/Central

The Defence Headquarters Thursday said troops operating in North West and North Central arrested 48 bandits and eliminated 15 in two weeks.

Defence spokesman, Brig.-Gen. Bernard Onyeuko, disclosed this in Abuja while briefing newsmen on the operations of armed forces between October 29 and November 11.

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He said 42 kidnapped victims were rescued in different operations across the zones during the period under review.

He said 12 assorted arms and 77 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition were recovered within the period.

Under Operation Safe Haven, Onyeuko said troops maintained continuous vigilance with constant land and air patrols to deny criminal elements freedom of action.

He said the general security situation in the Plateau had been relatively calm within the period in spite of some pockets of incidents recorded in some locations.

He added that troops rescued 33 kidnapped victims from bandits and arrested 23 criminal elements within the period.

Under Operation Whirl Stroke, Onyeuko said that troops continued to carry out clearance and raid operations in parts of Benue and Nasarawa states leading to arrest of nine bandits, killing of two and rescuing of three victims.

He said troops recovered 19 arms including AK-47 rifles, Machine Guns, two locally-made pistols and six extra rifle magazines as well as 79 rounds of ammunition.

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