Three Soldiers feared Killed by gunmen in Bayelsa

Simon Utebor, Yenagoa

Three soldiers attached to the Joint Force in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shield, have been killed by suspected militants in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

It was learnt that gunmen, who operated on a speedboat allegedly overran a military outpost at Foropa and gunned down three soldiers around 1:30am on Tuesday at Foropa in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

After reportedly killing the soldiers, the militants were said to have carted away two AK47 riffles, a General Purpose Machine Gun and ammunition from the Foropa checkpoint.

Source said troops had been stationed in the area since 2010

It could not be ascertained if the assailants were from the council area or they sneaked in from another area to carry out the surprise attack on the troops.

Resident were said to be fleeing the community “for fear of military invasion and indiscriminate arrest of innocent persons”.

The security outfit was said to have evacuated the bodies of slain soldiers before dawn.

A top security source, who did spoke under the condition of anonymity, said the militants struck at about 1:30am in a surprise attack, explaining that the soldiers could have been sleeping when the incident occurred.

It was further gathered that, the militant attacked the security agents ostensibly to steal their arms and ammunitions.

According to the source, “These militant attack security agents ostensibly to steal their arms and ammunition. Criminally-minded youths are stocking arms again. This calls for vigilance among security operatives”.

Efforts to contact the spokesman for the security outfit, Col. Isa Ado, were not successful as calls to his mobile phone did not connect.

President Muhammadu Buhari has already ordered security chief to unmask the identities of persons behind the militant group and stop the violence in the region.