ABUJA, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of suspected gunmen, including a notorious bandit leader, were killed in a recent raid by Nigerian troops in the northern state of Kaduna, the government said Thursday.
The troops raided the hideout of suspected bandits in the Idasu forest, located between Giwa and Sabuwa local government areas, and they engaged in a fierce gunfight with dozens of criminals, said Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner for internal security and home affairs in Kaduna, without specifying when the incident occurred.
"The infamous terrorist Buharin Yadi, one of the deadliest bandit leaders terrorizing northern Nigeria in the past decade, has met his bitter end at the hands of security forces," the statement said, noting that the troops rained down fire on the bandits during the gunfight, killing at least 36 of them.
The covert operation on the movement of the suspected bandits from the northwestern state of Katsina followed credible intelligence.
Yadi and his fighters had been terrorizing locals for years, the statement said, adding that the bandit leader was involved in large-scale cattle rustling, arms trading and drug trafficking.
"He had led his gang in the pillaging of communities and the slaughter and kidnapping of thousands of citizens in Kaduna and neighboring states. The merciless bandit was also known to have links with deadly terrorist groups in the northeast and northwest regions," the statement said, adding that the successful operation had brought an end to a manhunt by security forces that lasted more than five years. ■
