Two soldiers were killed while four others sustained injuries on Wednesday, after a gang of terrorists ambushed troops from the 32 Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Katsina.
A lieutenant is also still missing after the ambush.
Military and state authorities did not respond to SMS and calls requesting comments on the attack.
However, residents of Shimfida, where the attack took place told PREMIUM TIMES that many terrorists were also killed in the firefight that ensued after the ambush.
Nasir Mustapha, an indigene of Shimfida, who lives in neighbouring Jibia town, said a military Armoured Personal Carrier (APC), was escorting a group of local business people to Gurbi village when it stepped on an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by the terrorists.
“Immediately the vehicle stepped on the IED, it exploded and the bandits started firing at the soldiers.
“Because the soldiers were many, they too, started firing back. My cousin was among those going to Gurbi for a business transaction and he was miraculously saved,” he said.
Mr Mustapha said due to increasing attack on travellers, soldiers often escort residents of Shimfida to and fro the area.
He said many residents of the area have fled to the relatively safe Jibia town.
Another source, who requested not to be named, said when he saw a convoy of six military vehicles on high speed passing through Jibia to Shimfida, he knew something was wrong.
“I spoke with some of my friends in the village and they said soldiers were being attacked. I also saw an air force jet going towards that direction. Later Musa (one of the business men) told me that the bandits ran away when the remaining soldiers started shooting at them, maybe because they had already bombed the APC, which was possibly their intention,” he added.
He said that the two civilian vehicles being escorted were protected by the soldiers and none of the residents sustained injury or were killed.
“But two soldiers died and some were injured. They carried their corpses and passed through here, (Jibia town)” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the corpses and the wounded soldiers were taken to the Federal Teaching Hospital in Katsina.
Calls and SMS sent to Sinivie Tamuno, the spokesperson of the 17 brigade in Katsina, were unanswered as of the time of filing this report.
Bandits have been attacking communities in the North-west and some parts of North-central Nigeria, leading to the death of hundreds of thousands of people and displacement of millions of others.
Students were on several occasions abducted from schools, farmers driven away from their farmlands, traders stopped from patronising rural markets while women were raped.
Motorists and other travellers have also been attacked, with federal, state and local highways now being endangered roads.
