5 killed in soldiers militants’ gun battle

Troops attached to the Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield (OPS), have killed four suspected militants in the wee hours of yesterday in a gun battle at Tuma House Boat in Rivers State.

The military action is coming on the heels of an attack on a military base at Ogboubagbene, Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State by suspected militants, which resulted in the death of one civilian.

Deputy Force Commander, Brigadier General Kevin Aligbe, who disclosed this during a press briefing at the Command headquarters in Yenagoa, noted that one civilian working on the boat died in the course of the attack.

“Some faceless criminals attacked our troops deployed at Tuma House Boat in Rivers State at about 0430 hours on Wednesday. The bandits were repelled by vigilant troops and they suffered heavy casualties while few of them ran into an adjoining creek. Effort is ongoing to fish them out and ascertain the numbers of the criminals killed during the duel. “Unfortunately, four soldiers were injured while one civilian died. Let me reiterate that this operation will do everything within the law to crack down on these criminals and their sponsors wherever they are.”

Aligbe, who seized the opportunity to shed light on the operations at Ogboubagbene community in Bomadi Local Government Area, pointed out those communities must not  harbour criminals.

He advised them to reveal identities of the criminals as they will be smoked out from their hideouts to face justice.