Nigeria, Nov. 3 -- No fewer than 19 armed bandits have been neutralised by the troops of the Joint Task Force, Operation MESA, under the Nigerian Army's 3 Brigade, while also stopped an attack on some villages in Shanono Local Government Area of Kano State.

The operation, according to the Army, occured on Saturday evening, November 1, after an intelligence report that gunmen were heading toward Ungwan Tudu, Ungwan Tsamiya, and Goron Dutse communities.

Captain Babatunde Zubairu, the Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for the 3 Brigade, said in a statement that the troops, together with other security agencies, moved quickly to intercept the attackers.

"The troops engaged the bandits in a fierce gun battle. During the encounter,...