Nigerian army kills 150 gang members in ambush

Abuja [Nigeria], July 12: Nigerian soldiers killed at least 150 members of a criminal gang in an ambush in northwestern Kebbi state this week, a local official said Thursday.
Troops laid ambush on a massive convoy of bandits as they rode through villages in Kebbi state's Danko-Wasagu district on Wednesday, leading to a two-hour gunfight, said Husaini Bena, the political administrator of Danko-Wasagu.
The heavily armed bandits, riding on around 350 motorcycles, were heading to their base in neighbouring Niger state when they were ambushed by the troops, Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Bena as saying.
"More than 150 bandits were killed in the military operation which involved ground troops and fighter jets," he said.
The military forced the bandits to retreat, but jets "bombed them as they fled", he added.
AbdulRahman Zagga, director of security in the Kebbi state governor's office, said troops fought around 400 bandits, "resulting in the elimination of many" of them.
Zagga said that bandits were suspected to be the same group that recently attacked a military base in Niger state, killing 20 soldiers.
Troops continued to comb the countryside on Thursday.
Source: Emirates News Agency