About 20 Nigerian soldiers were killed in the early hours of Tuesday when armed bandits launched a surprise attack on a military camp near Bangi, in Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State, security sources said.
The deadly ambush occurred around dawn on June 24, as heavily armed assailants overran the camp following a sustained gun battle.
Several soldiers were also reported injured in the attack, while details about the number of missing personnel remain unclear.
Security sources told reporters that the bandits, operating in large numbers, caught the troops off guard.
“Today, about 20 soldiers were killed by armed bandits near Bangi, Mariga LGA of Niger State in an early morning attack on their camp,” a source close to the military said.
Photographs of the fallen soldiers were obtained by local media, underscoring the scale of the loss.
The incident has sparked renewed fears over the deteriorating security situation in Niger State, where communities have repeatedly come under attack from increasingly brazen bandit groups.
Residents of the area are reportedly fleeing in fear of further violence, as authorities work to restore order and pursue the attackers.
The Nigerian military has not yet issued an official statement on the incident as of Wednesday morning.
The attack comes amid ongoing security operations in the region, where both military and intelligence agencies have recently carried out offensives against bandit groups, including a major operation earlier this month that resulted in the deaths of dozens of suspected bandits.
Leave a Reply