By DAILY TRUST
No fewer than 11 soldiers were killed in an ambush laid by terrorists along the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari highway in Kaduna State, over the weekend according to reports.
The 123km stretch Kaduna-Birnin Gwari highway has been designated as one of the most deadly routes in northern Nigeria as security sources noted that terrorists, in their hundreds, ambushed and massacred the soldiers, setting two military Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) ablaze.
The sources said the terrorists were moving several herds of cows when the solders, suspecting the cows had been rustled, engaged them. “The soldiers thought it was a few bandits and engaged them. Yes, they killed some of the bandits but the terrorists overpowered them. The terrorists do not leave their dead behind. They also burnt down two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs),” the sources said.
Abdul Ahmed, a resident of Birnin Gwari, also told Daily Trust that on Monday morning, a military redeployment was sent to the area to evacuate the dead soldiers. He said he counted about 11 corpses of soldiers loaded into a van.
In a video seen by Daily Trust, the corpses of the soldiers were seen by the roadside. This is one of the many attacks in Kaduna in the last few weeks.
An official of the Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA) was killed when bandits struck outside the Kaduna International Airport.
Also a Kaduna-bound train was attacked last week while many passengers were abducted and nine were killed.
Commenting on the attacks, Governor Nasir El-Rufai had said mercenaries might be hired if the Federal Government failed to act, but this triggered massive backlash.
