ABUJA, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Gunmen ambushed a convoy of traders travelling to a market under military escort and killed at least 20 people in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara state, a witness and a military source said on Monday.
• Local resident Musa Danladi told Reuters the attack occurred around 2 p.m. on Saturday with the convoy en route to Nasarawa market in Bukkuyum district from Gwashi
• Danladi, who helped retrieve the bodies, said four soldiers, three policemen and a Nigerian civil defence corps officer were among those killed, along with 12 civilians
• Northwestern Nigeria has seen a surge in attacks by heavily armed gangs, known as bandits, who raid villages, abduct residents for ransom and rustle livestock
• A military source confirmed the attack and said 19 people were also wounded
• Military and police authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment
• Separately, the military said an air strike in northeastern Borno state killed more than 40 Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters, including a senior commander, on October 10
• Military spokesperson Captain Mohammed Goni said the strike targeted an ISWAP enclave in Badu village after intelligence indicated the fighters were planning coordinated attacks on troops.
• Goni said the fighters belonged to ISWAP’s Murabitun unit, a mobile force involved in attacks and patrols, and that the strike had significantly weakened the group’s operational capabilities in the region
(Reporting by Adewale Kolawole and Ahmed Kingimi in Maiduguri; Addititonal reporting by Hamza Ibrahim in Kano; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Andrew Cawthrne, Alexandra Hudson)
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