Two soldiers deployed to participate in
the West African Force in Mali were on Saturday killed in an ambush by
terrorists at Itakpe Junction, along the Okenne-Lokoja Road.
Four others were said to have received injuries from bomb explosions and gun attacks from the assailants.
The bodies of the late soldiers were
deposited at the mortuary in Lokoja while the injured soldiers are
receiving treatment under heavy security at the Federal Medical Centre,
Lokoja, Kogi State.
It was learnt that about 150 soldiers
were travelling in a convoy from Ibadan, Oyo State when they came under
the attack in Kogi.
Motorists were held up along the Okenne-Lokoja Road for over one hour as the road was blocked by men of the Joint Task Force.
The Army Director of Information, Maj.
Gen Bola Koleosho, who confirmed the attack, said those who killed the
soldiers were members of a terrorist organisation.
Koleosho said the terrorists laid an
ambush for them and threw Improvised Explosive Devices on the convoy while
firing at them simultaneously from the bush.
He said the soldiers left Ibadan for the North on their way to Mali and stopped over in Okenne to pass the night.
He dismissed insider’s collaboration on the ground that it could not be substantiated.
He said, “The troops were coming from
Ibadan, I think it took them some time to leave and when they got to
Okene, they stopped over to pass the night.
“They were leaving in the morning around
when the attackers who were not robbers, because thieves don’t use
IEDs, waited for them. After they allowed the first escort vehicle to
pass, they threw bombs at them while opening fire from the bush.
“Our soldiers at the back returned the
fire. If not, the casualty figure would have been higher. One person
died instantly and the other died on the way to the hospital. The other
four are responding to treatment.”
Koleosho said the soldiers decided to
block the road to ensure that innocent Nigerians were not attacked by
the terrorists. He also said it was to pave way for the soldiers to
defuse unexploded IEDs which might have been left behind by the
terrorists.
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may de souls of dez matyrs rest pfect peace.Amen.bt securities n nija shld be well questioned bcos dea s leak of information.
ReplyDeletemuslims!muslims!!.which part of qoran do ginger dem to tink nd justify terrorism. apology t inocent nd wel tinkn muslims
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 4:52pm,d last time I read this post I didn't see anywhere the writer said muslims attacked the military convoy coz they were fighting jihad. U̶̲̅ realy don't have to say anything if U̶̲̅ don't have anything meaningful or positive to contribute. Nigerians don't need religious fanatics like U̶̲̅.
DeleteSo no arrest was made????
ReplyDelete