Article author:
Reuters
MAIDUGURI — At least 30 Nigerian soldiers were killed in an ambush earlier this week after shooters attacked a mine in the Shiroro region of Nigeria, three sources said Saturday.
The army was one of the security forces deployed to search for miners, including four Chinese who were allegedly kidnapped during the attack on Wednesday.
Emmanuel Umar, a national security commissioner in northwestern Niger, initially stated that an unknown number of people were killed during a land mine attack in the village of Ajata Aboki.
When security forces responded to the attack, armed groups ambushed them and fired, 30 soldiers traveling in three trucks, Shiroro, the capital of Niger. And killed two troops of Mina. I said on Saturday.
He said, "It's a pain to lose a subordinate who went for reinforcements. It weakened us, but we wouldn't forgive."
Shiroro's local leader called Reuters and told Reuters that he had arrived at the mine by motorcycle and truck before the shooters fired, killing seven guards.
He added that they kidnapped Chinese workers and shot and killed eight civilians. It was not immediately clear whether civilians were mining workers.
Senior Nigerian training and doctrinal command officers are leading operations in Mina to find kidnapped workers, the leader said.
A spokesperson for the Niger state police declined to comment.
President Muhammad Buhari said the shooter was a "sadist" who was found and punished. "Shiroro will see justice," he said in a Twitter post on Saturday.
It was not immediately clear who attacked in Niger. In Niger, armed groups are known to have attacked the village. Local officials said last year that Boko Haram's extremist suspect had a presence in Shiroro. (Report by Maiduguri Newsroom, Written by MacDonald Dzirutwe, Edited by Mike Harrison)
