The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has said its Special Forces (SF) team successfully repelled attacks by bandits who attempted to invade Hayin Mahe and Hayin Kanawa Villages in Gusau Local Government Area of Zamfara.
Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said that the attack by the bandits was carried out on Sunday.
According to him, the prompt response of the SF team followed intelligence reports of the activities of the bandits in the area.
He said that the bandits, who operated from Sububu and Kagara Forests, had attacked the villages and kidnapped some of its inhabitants.
Daramola said the timely response of the SF team resulted in a gun duel with the bandits who eventually fled into the forest.
“The gallant NAF SF personnel pursued the bandits into the forest, overpowering them and neutralising five bandits, while many others escaped with various gunshot wounds,” he said.
The NAF spokesman also said three AK-47 rifles with magazines were recovered in the process.
He said that some villagers kidnapped by the fleeing bandits, included two women and a child, who were later rescued and handed over to the District Head of Mada Town.
“In a follow-up operation, the NAF SF team returned to the communities to prevent reprisal attacks by the criminals as well as reassure the populace of their safety.
“The team, supported by a NAF Alpha Jet and attack helicopters, tracked the fleeing armed bandits to their hideouts within Sububu Forest.
“The Alpha Jet successfully attacked the armed bandits’ camps while the helicopters scanned the environs for fleeing elements,’’ Daramola said.
The NAF spokesman reassured citizens of the affected areas of the Federal Government’s commitment to the protection of their lives and properties.
He said the NAF, working in close coordination with sister services and other security agencies, would sustain its operations to neutralise the bandits and curtail their criminal activities in the area.
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