Military rescues 20 kidnap victims in Zamfara

Troops of Operation Hadarin Daji have rescued 20 persons abducted by bandits in Zamfara State.

News gathered that the victims regained their freedom after the troops of Sector 1, Team 3, Magami deployed at FOB Dansadau engaged the bandits in a gun battle on Wednesday, July 19, 2023.

Intelligence sources told this medium that the troops, led by the Commanding Officer of the Battalion, stalked and swooped on the terrorists in their hideouts. Some of them were killed in a ferocious firefight that ensued.

The abductees, comprising 16 males and four females, were rescued from bandits and taken to Dansadau for medical treatments.

“In a separate encounter, troops of Sect 1, Team 10 deployed at FOB Wasagu intercepted two locals who escaped from bandits enclave in Birnin Gwari forest Kaduna State after spending 14 days in captivity. The troops subsequently handed them over to the Magaji of Wasagu to be reunited with their families,” a source said.

Newsmen also learnt that troops of the Forward Operating Base in Anka naturalized two bandits and recovered sophisticated weapons from them during a fighting patrol along Makakari village in Gwashi District in the Bukuyyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

“In Kwatarkwashi, the troops foiled a kidnap attempt in the community after responding to a distress call that bandits had stormed one Comrade Nura’s residence at Kwatarkwashi District in Bungudu Local Government Area of the State. Getting the wind that troops had been alerted, the bandits fled before the troops arrived.

“The troops subsequently combed the surrounding high ground between Tazame and Kwatarkwashi but no contact was made,” the source added.

This medium reports that the renewed onslaught against bandits in the general area has continued to be on the upswing as scores of bandits are daily neutralized and their enclaves busted by troops of the Nigerian Army in conjunction with other security forces.