By SUMAILA OGBAJE

Troops of Operation FANSAN YAMMA have recovered four motorcycles stolen from farmers in Kaduna State, while four bandit kingpins were reportedly killed in a clash between rival criminal groups.

This is contained in an operational report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Wednesday in Abuja.

The report said the motorcycles were recovered following information received by troops of 4 Demonstration Battalion deployed at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Kadage in Giwa Local Government Area.

It said the motorcycles had earlier been carted away by bandits during an attack on farmers in Angwan Garke village on June 6.

According to the report, the recovered motorcycles were handed over to the police at Galadimawa before being received by the troops for onward return to their rightful owners.

The army further revealed that about seven bandits were neutralised during the encounter with troops on June 6.

It added efforts to recover the bodies of the neutralised bandits were unsuccessful as members of the criminal group had evacuated them before troops arrived.

“In a related development, intelligence sources reported a violent clash between rival bandit groups around Rijana Dam in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State on June 8.

“Four bandit kingpins, including one identified as Laggu, were killed during the confrontation, while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

“The deceased were evacuated from the area and buried after funeral prayers at a mosque in Rijana,” it said.

The report said security agencies were closely monitoring the situation amid concerns that the clash could trigger reprisals among the rival groups.

“Meanwhile, troops conducting Operation Savannah Shield and other routine security activities within their areas of responsibility recorded no significant incident during the period under review,” it added. (NAN)

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