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An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated in the early hours of Wednesday along the Gusau-Funtua highway in Zamfara State.
The impact of the explosion damaged a trailer loaded with cement around Unguwar Mai Chida village, causing major traffic disruption.
Local sources said the device, suspected to have been planted by terrorists, exploded as the vehicle was passing through the area.
The truck, which was travelling from Sokoto to Kaduna, sustained severe damage to its head.
However, no life was lost, as the driver was rescued alive.
A resident, identified as Samaila, said the explosion occurred just hours after a joint team of police and military operatives cleared and reopened the Kucheri-Danjibga-Keta road in the Tsafe Local Government Area, which had been inaccessible for over a month due to planted explosives.
According to him, security operatives had earlier encountered resistance during the clearance operation, resulting in an exchange of gunfire that lasted several hours.
He suggested that the IED that struck the truck might have been among those initially planted to target security personnel.
Another eyewitness, identified as Lawali, a commercial driver, said he and other motorists assisted in rescuing the injured driver, identified as Dauda Adamu, from the damaged vehicle.
He described the blast as extremely loud, causing panic among road users, many of whom parked at a safe distance until military and other security personnel arrived to secure and clear the highway.
“Many drivers stopped and watched from afar until the Military and other security personnel arrived to secure and clear the road,” Lawali stated.
Confirming the incident to Channels Television via telephone conversation, the spokesperson of the Zamfara State Police Command, DSP Yazid Abubakar, said the team from the Explosive Ordinance Department had been dispatched to the location.
Last Thursday, a Nigerian Army Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) ran into a planted explosive device along the Keta-Danjibga road in the Tsafe local government area. (Channels)
