Eleven Nigerian troops attached to Operation MESA were killed at the weekend after they were attacked by suspected gunrunners and armed bandits in the north-central state of Niger.
One officer has been declared missing while two others were critically wounded.
“An officer and 8 soldiers of the Nigerian Army and 2 Airmen of the Nigeria Air Force lost their lives in the line of national duty. Additionally, one soldier is still missing while 2 of their colleagues were seriously wounded,” Nigerian Army spokesman, Colonel Sani Usman said in a statement on Sunday.
The troops, however, killed eight members of the gang that attacked them while 57 suspected criminals were also arrested.
Usman said the troops were attacked when they went “to recover suspected weapon cache and arrest the suspected persons and the armed bandits” in Kopa, Dagma and Gagaw villages of Bosso Local Government Area, Niger State.”
“The suspected gun runners and armed bandits also burnt down 4 operational vehicles and vandalised 2 others. Bandits also carted away 4 AK-47 rifles and one Fabrique Nationale (FN) rifle belonging to the deceased soldiers,” the army spokesman said.
According to Usman, the troops, however, “recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition” from the suspects.
