ISTANBUL
The Nigerian army killed one of the top terrorist commanders, as well as 31 fighters, during a military operation in the violence-ravaged northwestern region.
The country’s Defense Headquarters (DHQ) on Wednesday said the army killed terrorist leader Bello Turji’s second-in-command, Aminu Kanawa, and 31 terrorists, and injured some of Turji’s close allies, including his younger brother, in Operation Fansan Yamma.
The development came after the DHQ announced on Monday that the army had killed Turji’s fighters and his son in operations to clear out his hideout, according to the local daily Punch.
Turji is also forced by the military to abandon his son and the soldiers during the gunfight, it added.
Bello Turji is known for carrying out several attacks and killing civilians and security forces in the country’s northwestern regions, particularly in Zamfara and Sokoto states.
Bandits and terrorists loyal to notorious terrorist kingpin Turji massacred over 200 people in Zamfara State in 2022.
According to data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, nearly 615,000 people were killed in insecurity-related attacks between May 2023 and April 2024, with the northwest bearing the highest toll of more than 200,000 deaths.
