Troops of 34 Artillery Brigade have killed two gunmen and arrested four others suspected to be members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed affiliate, Eastern Security Network (ESN) in Imo State.
The Nation learnt there was a fierce gun battle on Monday between the soldiers and the IPOB suspects on Orlu-Orsu Road.
Director, Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen Onyema Nwachukwu said in a statement yesterday that the suspects opened fire on sighting the troops.
He said, “The troops, while on routine patrol, made contact with elements of IPOB/ESN around the general area of Aluminum Company and All Saints Church. On sighting the patrol team, the criminal elements opened fire and launched grenade attack on the troops.”
He said, “Troops arrested four of the fleeing gunmen and recovered one AK47 rifle, two magazines, one police grenade launcher, two Baofeng communication radios, five mobile phones, one IPOB beret, two motorcycles, four SIM cards, five wallets containing different ID cards, aphrodisiac, charms and N16,460.”