Actual number of bandits killed in the airstrikes could not be ascertained in the dawn operations
A Nigerian military jet on Saturday raided the hideout of bandit kingpin, Bello Turji and his gang, killing scores of bandits in Zamfara and Sokoto forests.
The terrorist leader, Turji, who operates in the North West region is said to have sustained life-threatening injuries when military fighter jets raided his hideouts.
Military sources said the Air Task Force, ATF, Operation Hadarin Daji, following intelligence deployed fighter jets which killed several bandits, in the raid carried out at some forests in Zamfara and Sokoto States, in the early hours of Saturday, Leadership reports.
Though the actual number of bandits killed in the airstrikes could not be ascertained in the dawn operations, sources, however, said several terrorists were killed while others fleeing were mopped up by ground troops of the Nigerian Army in an ambush.
“Apart from spontaneous operations in Katsina and Zamfara, from 16-17 December 2021, airstrikes were conducted by NAF aircraft at bandits’ camps in Isa, Sabon Birni axis and East Tozei where several bandits were eliminated while others escaped in disarray,” a source said.
A senior military source said joint operations by air and ground troops are yielding positive results.
The source said a General Officer Commanding, GOC, led troops to strongholds of the bandits in Sokoto and Zamfara states, while at the same time multiple airstrikes of the military attack jets pounded the criminal bandits.
“Many of them were neutralised. Credible reports indicate that Turji was badly wounded by today’s strike and if not dead. There were civilians that were also set free, after our military raids at the bandits’ forest camps.
“There may likely be collateral damages in communities where bandits are harboured and protected because some community leaders are reluctant to provide useful information on the bandits in their areas,” he said.