Taraba, Northeast Nigeria- A yet-to-be-identified gunmen suspected to be terrorist groups of armed bandits have invaded Tati village in the Takun local government area of Taraba state.
The Nigerian troops engaged the terrorists who rode motorbikes in large numbers while attacking innocent civilians and shooting sporadically on Tuesday, May 11th around 10 p.m.
However, the terrorists overpowered the troops in a fierce gun battle in which they succeeded in killing no fewer than six soldiers while kidnapping a senior commanding officer to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The military discloses that Abdullahi Ibrahim, Ndubuise Okonkwo, Yusuf Salihu, Sani Isa, and Dauda Tata are among the casualties.
In a similar report, the military also discloses that the terrorists had earlier ambushed men of the Nigerian troops redeployed in the Maraba area, where the military tactically carried out anti-ambush drills to survive unhurt.
The troops were said to have killed a number of the terrorists while recovering sophisticated weapons such as an AK47 rifle, two AK-47 magazines, 19 rounds of 7.62mm (SP), one pistol, and N15.120 in cash, among other things.
Nigeria has for long been battling to end the terrorism of extremist groups of Boko-Haram/ISWAP for over a decade in the northeastern region. These terrorists are known for their mass kidnappings of civilians, torture, brutal killings, and other human rights violations.
Attacks on soldiers in the northeast are mostly connected to Islamist terrorist groups, as the Takun attack is similar to many of their deadly attacks on Nigerian troops.
Many soldiers, including men of the Nigerian Police, and civilians JTF lost their lives in the battle to end insurgency in the northeast before the emergence of the terrorist groups of armed bandits, who are mostly dominated by ethnic groups of heders in the northwestern part of Nigeria that worsen the insecurity.
