No fewer than five bandits, who attacked Diskuru village in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State recently, have been killed by the troops of Operation Sahel Sanity.
The troops also rescued three women and their infants abducted by the criminals.
According to the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, at a weekly press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, one of the operatives also died while trying to rescue the nursing mother.
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Enenche described the loss of the operative as “regrettable”, adding that the troops deployed at Dan Ali village arrested two suspected bandits’ collaborators, Samaila Usman and Idi Bello.
“The period in focus witnessed a decline in criminal activities in the zone.
“However, within the period under review, troops of Operation Sahel Sanity reacted swiftly to a distress call about bandits who attacked Diskuru village in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State.
“The gallant troops engaged the criminals in a fierce firefight, forcing them to withdraw in disarray while three bandits were neutralized by the troops as several others escaped with various degrees of gunshot wounds.
“During the exploitation phase, two additional bandits’ bodies were discovered along their withdrawal route.
“Equally, three women and their infants earlier kidnapped by the bandits were rescued.
“Regrettably, one brave soldier paid the supreme price in an attempt to save one of the rescued nursing mothers in the heat of the encounter,” he said.
