- By Femi Alabi
Ovér 26 people were killed and many others injured in Katsina State when Katsina Community Watch Corps and other security agents raided the hide out of terrorists in Katsina.
Terrorists killed the Commander, Katsina Community Watch Corps (KCWC) for Kankara LGA, Sanusi Hassan, four local vigilantes and two young men from Birdigau when they clashed with security operatives who raided their hideout at Yar Taipa, Birdigau ‘J’ located between Malumfashi and Kankara LGA.
A security personnel from the area told Vanguard that the security operatives were on a mission to dislodge the criminals from their new hideout when the incident happened. This follows an intelligence report that notorious bandit kingpins, Dankarami and Barbaru had established a new hideout in Yar Tepa.
According to him, the hoodlums, lately have been planning and launching attacks on nearby communities from this settlement, abandoning their traditional bush operations.
While the security operatives sustained these losses, he said their efforts inflicted heavy casualties on the bandits.
“The operation faced stiff resistance from the bandits as the clash claimed the lives of six individuals on the security side and over 20 from the side of the criminals.
“Sanusi Hassan, the Katsina Community Watch Commander (KCWC) for Kankara LGA displayed remarkable courage, eliminating numerous bandits before tragically falling in the line of duty,” he said.
The source further disclosed that following the ground confrontation, an air raid targeted Dinary Primary School in Yargoje village, where the fleeing bandits reportedly gathered, killing a yet to be determined number of them. He said the airstrike disrupted their attempts to recover the remains of their fallen comrades.