Gunmen suspected to be bandits have ambushed troops of the Forward Operational Base and that of the Special Operational Command operating in Kebbi State for the purpose of clearance operation.

The incident, which occurred around Marke village of the state on Tuesday, left seven soldiers dead.

According to sources familiar with the incident, the seven slain soldiers consist of four naval special force personnel and three soldiers.

Aside the seven, five of the soldiers also suffered gunshot injuries. Two others were still missing as of the time of writing this report.

Some sources with knowledge of the incident said the bandits came in large number which forced the troops to withdraw after engaging them for a while.

Some of the items the bandits carted away were seven AK 47 rifles, one anti aircraft gun and one Russian machine gun.

They set ablaze four Toyota hilux vans and one automatic grenade launcher before fleeing into the bush.

Search and rescue operations are currently ongoing in the area for the missing soldiers, our sources said.

PT