By Zagazola Makama

Troops of the Mobile Strike Team (MST) under Operation Forest Yakin (OPFY) have recorded a significant success in the ongoing counterterrorism operations in Zamfara State, eliminating a notorious terrorist kingpin known as AUTA and several of his cohorts during an offensive mission.

Intelligence told Zagazola Makama that the operation, which took place on June 10, around the Ƙunchin Kalgo town in Kunchin Kalgo District of Tsafe Local Government Area, led to the neutralisation of key terror elements identified as ABDUL JAMILU and SALISU, alongside AUTA.

The troops engaged the criminals in a fierce battle during which the terrorists were overpowered and killed. However, the whereabouts of another terrorist kingpin, BABAYE, and one unidentified associate remain unknown, though local reports suggest they may have also been eliminated during the exchange of gunfire.

In a related development, Sale ADO MADELE, popularly known as SARKI and the eldest son of notorious bandit leader Ado ALIERU, reportedly escaped the encounter by fleeing through nearby farmlands.

Eyewitnesses in the area said the escape occurred while local farmers were working on their fields, offering him a narrow route to evade capture.

Further intelligence reveals that terrorists operating within Ƙunchin Kalgo communities have mobilised sympathisers to search for BABAYE and others declared missing after the incident.

Community sources indicated rising anxiety among the criminal ranks over the increasing loss of their operatives to recent military operations.

This latest offensive came on the heels of another successful military engagement on June 9 at a filling station in Danjibga, where about ten terrorists linked to a plot orchestrated by one Dogo SULE were reportedly neutralised.

One of the slain terrorists was said to have been buried at the Danjibga graveyard, allegedly under the guidance of a local figure, Alhaji Hamza MKO, who was contacted by SULE to lead the funeral rites.