LAGOS: Airstrikes by Nigerian troops have destroyed two camps of armed groups inside Kuduru and Kwaimbana forests in the northern state of Kaduna and killed several bandits, a military spokesman said Friday.
The successes were achieved through separate airstrikes carried out on Wednesday and Thursday, said John Enenche, a military spokesperson in a statement reaching media.
Enenche said the attacks were launched on the heels of credible intelligence reports indicating that the two locations were being used as staging areas by the bandits.
He said the attack on the Kuduru forest hideout was executed after aerial reconnaissance missions observed a significant number of armed bandits around some compounds in a small settlement within the forest.
According to him, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) dispatched jets and helicopter gunships to attack the location, taking out some of the bandits.
“At the Kwaimbana Forest where some bandits were seen along with many rustled cattle around some huts and makeshift structures, the NAF jets and helicopter gunships engaged the area in successive passes, taking out some of the bandits,” he said.
Violence from armed groups has been affecting people living in the northern part of Nigeria recently, leading to civilian deaths, cattle rustling, and kidnapping for ransom.–Agencies