Nigerian army kills 19 bandits, repels ISWAP attack in separate incidents, troops among dead

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo via Reuters

By Camillus Eboh

ABUJA  -  Nigeria's military on Tuesday said 19 armed bandits were killed in a firefight in Kano state, marking a rare outbreak of violence in the northwestern commercial hub.

Army spokesman Babatunde Zubairu said in a statement that two soldiers and a local vigilante also died in the operation.  

The clash occurred in Shanono, where troops backed by other security agencies raided a bandit hideout, the army said. 

The operation is part of a broader military campaign to curb escalating insecurity across northern Nigeria, where armed groups have killed and kidnapped thousands in recent years.

Separately, Nigerian and Nigerien forces repelled an attack by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters on a military base in northeast Nigeria early on Tuesday, killing at least six insurgents. Follow-up airstrikes killed more fighters, the army said.

The assault on Forward Operating Base Kangar, located in Borno state which borders Niger, began around 0330 GMT and involved armed drones and mortar fire, the army regional counter-insurgency task force said in a statement.

Several soldiers and civilian JTF members suffered minor injuries and were swiftly evacuated for treatment, the statement said.

 (Additonal reporting by Ahmed Kingimi in Maiduguri; writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Aidan Lewis, William Maclean // REUTERS)