Again beleaguered Kaduna after airport, train attacks, loses 11 soldiers to gunmen

Following an overrun of some Nigerian troops at one of their bases in Kaduna in a fresh attack by some gunmen on motorcycles, at least 11 of the troops have been killed. The attackers also torched three Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) belonging to the soldiers.

According to reports, the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG)-wielding terrorists had on Monday launched a fatal attack on a military base in Birnin Gwari council area of Kaduna State, barely a week after they bombed the tracks of the Kaduna-Abuja train, killing at least eight people and abducting unspecified number of passengers and injuring many.

Persecondnews had reported that the abductees include the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan, whose family members said he had been unreachable since the March 28, 2022 attack

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) had in a statement on Sunday disclosed that the telephone lines of about 146 passengers could not be reached while about 200 were declared safe and had rejoined their families.

It was learnt that the gunmen had invaded the base at Polwire Village and launched offensives against the troops.

“The fight lasted for about two hours before the soldiers were finally dislodged from the area.

“We lost 11 men while 19 soldiers were wounded in action after they overwhelmed the troops. They also burnt down three Armoured Personel Carriers (APC) after they overwhelmed the troops,” a credible military source said.

Apart from the destruction of the APC, the gunmen also carted away weapons of the soldiers.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the deceased soldiers deposited at the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna while the injured ones are being treated at Birnin Gwari General Hospital and the 271 Nigerian Airforce Medical Centre also in the city.

Efforts to contact the new Army spokesman, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, were unsuccessful as he could not be reached on telephone.

Lately, Kaduna has become a theatre of war by terrorists following ceaseless attacks on the communities and military bases.

Persecondnews.com also recalls that in August 2021, some gunmen had invaded the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna and killed two officers.

Also, a pilot who was the son of a Nigerian senator, was also killed in his home in an estate in the beleaguered state capital.

Kaduna International Airport also recorded gunmen’s attack about two weeks ago but was successfully repelled by Nigerian security forces.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai had visited President Muhammadu Buhari last week at the State House, threatening that Northwest governors might resort to hiring foreign mercenaries to fight the insurgency.