SOLDIERS KILL NINE BOKO HARAM MEMBERS IN KANO

The Joint Military Task Force in the early hours of Wednesday killed nine and arrested two suspected Boko Haram members who attacked Tudun Wada Local Government, Kano State.

The gunmen were said to be making attempts to escape after they used explosives to attack a police headquarters, the Divisional Police Officer and set fire to a nearby bank when soldiers struck.

The 3rd Brigade, Nigeria Army General Officer Commanding, Brig- Gen. Iliyasu Abba, said the JTF who received a distress call from the town raced to the area to confront the hoodlums, stopping them from carting away money from the bank.

Abba said, 'We quickly mobilised our men to the scene and that was how we successfully got them. Two more gunmen were arrested.'

He showed the two arrested suspects and bodies of the dead to journalists put the weapons on display at the Bakavu Barracks, Kano.

The weapons included several pistols and AK-47 assault rifles, ammunition and police body armour, seized after the shootout.

'We blocked both ends of the roads to Tudun Wada and waited for the hoodlums, who came in three vehicles. We laid an ambush for them, seized the vehicle,' Reuters quoted the army chief as saying.

Abba advised the residents to always maintain safe distance during combat operation to avoid being hit by stray bullets.

He assured them that the JTF would respond to any distress call and restore peace to troubled areas in the North under threats from armed gangs.