Five Soldiers, Police Inspector Killed in Zamfara Ambush

At least five Nigerian soldiers and a police inspector were killed on Monday after armed attackers ambushed security personnel in Zamfara State.

Inspector Aliyu Ibrahim of the 1 Police Mobile Force (PMF), Kaduna, was among those killed. The attack occurred along the Kwatarkwashi–Gidan Goni axis in Kwatarkwashi Local Government Area.

A statement from the 1 PMF Kaduna, attached to Operation Fansan Yamma in Gusau, said the officers were on pass and travelling from Bingi Kwatarkwashi to Gusau when they came under attack.

According to the statement, the security personnel were ambushed at Gidan Goni village by armed assailants. Inspector Ibrahim and five soldiers were fatally shot, while several other personnel sustained injuries.

The injured and the bodies of the deceased were taken to Yeriman Bakura Specialist Hospital in Gusau. Hospital sources confirmed that the wounded are receiving treatment, while the corpses have been deposited in the morgue.

The statement added that arrangements are underway, in coordination with the police component of Operation Fansan Yamma in Gusau, to transport the body of the police inspector to Kaduna for burial.

Authorities have advised residents to remain calm as investigations continue and further details are awaited.

The incident adds to a series of recent attacks in the North-West. In neighbouring Sokoto State, gunmen last week killed seven residents and abducted three others during a raid on Kyara village in Sabon Birni Local Government Area. The village, located near the Niger Republic border, is reported to be remote and without mobile phone network coverage.

On the same day, a separate incident in Zamfara State left five people seriously injured following a suspected improvised explosive device explosion.