Nigerian army troops have repelled a raid by heavily armed criminal gangs on a community in the north-western state of Zamfara, killing one of the attackers during a follow-up operation, military sources say.
Soldiers from the 1 Brigade Quick Response Force, alongside a combat team based in the area, responded to an ongoing attack in the Kanoma District of Maru Local Government Area at around 11:00 local time on Tuesday.
The troops engaged the gunmen—locally referred to as bandits—in a fierce firefight near the local Kanoma Hill area, eventually forcing the attackers to withdraw.
Although gunfire from the gang managed to damage two tyres of a military combat support vehicle, no soldiers were killed or injured during the initial clash.
Following the gun battle, troops launched a pursuit operation beyond the hills, where they intercepted fleeing gang members riding on motorcycles. One gunman was killed in the ensuing shootout, while others escaped into the surrounding bush.
Military sources confirmed that an AK-47 assault rifle, a loaded magazine, and two motorcycles were recovered from the scene.
Zamfara State remains one of the hardest-hit regions in Nigeria’s ongoing security crisis, where rural communities frequently face violent raids, mass abductions, and extortion by rival criminal factions operating from deep forest hideouts.
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