Princess Kelechi
About 11 soldiers are feared killed after gunmen suspected to be bandits invaded a military base in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
According to military sources, the bandits came in large numbers of motorcycles and carrying heavy weapons including Rocket Propelled Grenade Bombs and engaged the troops in a fierce battle that lasted for two hours and dislodged them.
“We lost 11 men while 19 soldiers were wounded in action, after they overwhelmed the troops. They also burnt down 3 Armoured Personal Curriers(APC’s) after they overwhelmed the troops and carted away with several weapons,” an intelligence officer who chose to be anonymous said.
This attack comes after bandits bombed the Abuja-Kaduna train killing at least eight persons, while more than 100 person are still missing. Since after the train attack, there have been series of attacks and abductions along the Abuja-Kaduna highway perpetrated by bandits, despite Kaduna state being home to Nigeria’s Defence Accademy and other security armoury.
The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has however vowed to hire foreign machineries to fight terrorism if the federal government fails to do its job.
The wounded soldiers were evacuated to Birnin Gwari General Hospital and 271 Nigerian Airforce Medical Center while those who were killed have been evacuated to the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital Kaduna (44 NARHK) in Kaduna.