Abuja, Jan 30 (UNI) At least 30 suspected kidnappers were killed in a Nigerian military airstrike during a weekend raid in the country's northwestern state of Kaduna, authorities said on Monday.
The operation on Saturday followed an intelligence report as a military fighter jet sighted the movement of suspects riding in a convoy of 15 motorbikes in the Birnin Gwari area of Kaduna, said Edward Gabkwet, the Nigerian Air Force's spokesperson, in a statement.
The intelligence report also revealed that the criminal group was responsible for the ambush on troops in the same area earlier on Saturday, Gabkwet said. "They had also carried out several attacks and abductions on innocent civilians in Birnin Gwari."
He added that the suspected kidnappers were trailed to a location where they converged before they were "neutralised" in a precision strike.
UNI/XINHUA XC ARN