Bandits kill 6 soldiers in north Nigeria

Six Nigerian soldiers have been killed and an army officer declared missing following an ambush by bandits in the country's northeastern state of Taraba, the police confirmed on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

The troops were on their way to repel a bandits' attack on Tati Village in the state's Takum local government area late Tuesday when they were ambushed by the assailants, the police said at a news conference in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba.

Abubakar Usman, the spokesman for the police, said a search has been launched for the commander of the 93 Battalion of the Nigerian army's anti-terror operation following the ambush.

Usman said there was also a bomb blast at the headquarters of the 6th Brigade of the Nigerian army in the Sabongari area of Jalingo on Tuesday.

The explosive device was thrown into the army base by a passerby, and it landed on the ground, he said.

No casualty was, however, recorded in that incident, the police's spokesman said.