Troops of the Nigerian Army said they killed an alleged terrorist, arrested members of a gunrunning syndicate, and foiled a kidnap attempt in Taraba and Benue.

The army spokesman, Onyema Nwachukwu, disclosed this in a press release issued on Monday.

According to Mr Nwachukwu, the successful operations by the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency team, led to the recovery of arms, ammunition, a car, mobile phones, cash, and a motorcycle from the criminals.

“In Taraba state, troops, in collaboration with vigilantes, acted on actionable intelligence to apprehend one Mansir Mohammed at Jalingo Motor Park, who has been reportedly involved in gun-running activities with terrorists.

“His arrest led to the nabbing of other members of his syndicate and the recovery of one Semi Automatic Pump Action gun, one locally fabricated gun, a Peugeot car, 5 mobile phones, and the sum of forty-five thousand naira only.

“In a separate operation, troops on routine patrol at Miyande Village in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State have intercepted two terrorist suspects who concealed a Automatic rifle underneath the seat of a motorbike on which rode. The vigilant troops recovered one AK- 47 Rifle, 5 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition and a motorcycle,” he stated.

The army spokesperson also said the troops in response to a distress call, foiled a kidnap attempt within Zaki-Biam Town in Zaki-Biam LGA, stressing that “during the intervention, troops killed one kidnapper in a shootout with the criminals and recovered a Beretta pistol with foue rounds of 9mm ammunition.”

He emphasised the army’s unwavering commitment to eradicating terrorism and secure the country, while he urged members of the public not to relent in their support of the troops.