Five soldiers were killed and 11 others were injured by bandits who attacked a military camp in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The attack which occurred around 2pm on Sunday, May 12, 2024 also claimed the lives of several civilians and a local vigilante member.
According to a military internal memo seen by the Premium Times, over 200 heavily armed terrorists, led by notorious bandit kingpin, Ado Aleiru, stormed the Yar Malamai village military camp.
“Terrorist attack on military camp causing grievous hurt and death of military personnel,” the memo detailed the grave situation.
A member of the local vigilante group, identified as 30-year-old Aliyu Tukur, was among those killed.
“On receipt of the information, Supol Faskari and his team responded promptly to the scene, engaging the bandits in a fierce battle, supported by Air Force components. Unfortunately, despite the efforts, we suffered significant losses,” the memo read.
“The battle lasted for over two hours after the intervention from the Air Force; sadly five soldiers and one vigilante by name Aliyu Tukur, 30 years old, of the same address, lost their lives
”Eleven soldiers sustained different degrees of gunshot injuries, all injured were rushed to the hospital by the military, all corpses were also removed
“The attack led to the withdrawal of all the remaining military personnel from the village to a nearby camp 25 kilometres away situated at Ali Kere village due to heavy casualty recorded
“The bandits also suffered heavy casualties but have succeeded in removing them away from the scene
“Investigation has commenced. Further development would be communicated above for your information, please,” the memo added.
It was also gathered that the terrorists returned to Yarmalamai village, burning houses and escalating the violence, although specific casualty figures from the subsequent attack remained unconfirmed.