Again, pirates kill three soldiers in Bayelsa State

Dare-devil gunmen, suspected to be pirates operating along the waterways of Bayelsa State, have again killed three soldiers attached to the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, code-named ‘Operation Pulo Shield’.
The soldiers were killed on Tuesday, two days to Christmas, about three days after the same number of the security outfit’s soldiers fell to the bullets of pirates along Santa Barbara River in Nembe, Nembe Local Government Area of the state.
In the Santa Barbara incident, which occurred on Sunday, the bandits hijacked a military gunboat used by the victims to escort items from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to Brass terminal owned by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).
Sources said before JTF’s search-and-rescue team could recover the bodies of the Brass-bound soldiers, gunmen launched a fresh attack on soldiers at Azagbene, Ekeremor Local Government Area on Tuesday.
It was gathered that a boat conveying the soldiers to their routine duties in the area came under attack at about 11.30am on Tuesday.
A security source, which pleaded anonymity, said after wasting the lives of the soldiers, the gunmen carted away their rifles with 180 ammunition.
He said the civilian driver of the boat was not spared, as he was also killed by the “marauding beasts.
“This is a bad time for soldiers. Just three days after three soldiers whose corpses had yet to be found were killed, three more JTF’s soldiers were also attacked and killed in similar circumstances on Tuesday.
“The soldiers were ambushed and killed by the gunmen who made away with their rifles and ammunition. The Niger Delta region especially waterways in Bayelsa State is gradually returning to the dark days of militancy. Losing six soldiers within four days is massive”, he said.
Daily independent.
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