Eight Killed and Eight Abducted in Zamfara Highway Attack

Eight travellers were killed and eight others abducted when armed men attacked motorists on the Gusau-Funtua highway in Zamfara State. Nine other passengers sustained gunshot injuries in the attack, which occurred near Unguwar Chida village in Tsafe Local Government Area on Tuesday. The Zamfara State Police Command said security forces later pursued the attackers and killed 17 suspected bandits in an exchange of fire. [1]

Highway Attack in Zamfara

The police spokesperson in the state, Yazid Abubakar, disclosed the details in a statement on Thursday. The police received a report at about 4:05 p.m. that a large number of armed men had blocked the federal highway and were shooting at motorists and passengers. [1] The attackers intercepted two commercial vehicles: an unregistered Sharon vehicle driven by Halilu Namadi of Taloka village in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, and a Sokoto State Transport Authority bus carrying 18 passengers towards Kaduna and Abuja. [1] Mr Namadi was travelling from Sokoto to Gwagwalada in the Federal Capital Territory when he was shot dead. His vehicle lost control, somersaulted and veered off the road. Six passengers in the vehicle, four men and two women, were also shot dead. [1] In the Sokoto State Transport Authority bus, one male passenger was killed, nine others sustained gunshot injuries and eight were abducted. [1] Officers from the Tsafe division and personnel of the Violence Crime Response Unit were deployed to the scene after receiving the distress report. The injured were taken to the General Hospital, Tsafe, for treatment, while the bodies of those killed were deposited at the hospital’s mortuary pending identification and notification of their relatives. [1]

Pursuit and Clash with Bandits

The same armed group attacked Magazu village in Tsafe Local Government Area at about 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday. A 35-year-old resident, Lawali Muazu, was hit by what the police described as a stray bullet and taken to the General Hospital, Tsafe, for treatment. [1] Police and military personnel pursued the attackers along the Gusau-Funtua highway, where the group attempted to intercept a trailer carrying food items. Security personnel engaged the attackers in a gunfight, killing 17 suspected bandits. Several others reportedly escaped with gunshot wounds. [1] Security personnel were still searching for the eight abducted passengers and the fleeing attackers as of Thursday. Teams comprising officers, soldiers, Community Protection Guards, hunters and local vigilantes had been deployed along the highway and other vulnerable locations. [1]

Foiled Attack in Katsina State

In Katsina State, police said they foiled an attack on two communities in Malumfashi Local Government Area and killed one suspected bandit. The police spokesperson, Abubakar Aliyu, said the command received a distress call at about 6 p.m. on Tuesday that suspected bandits on motorcycles were moving towards Dansarai and Kamfani villages. [1] Officers from the Malumfashi Division and the Violence Crime Response Unit blocked the routes the attackers were expected to use and engaged them in a gunfight. The attackers fled, while officers recovered the body of one suspected bandit during a search of the area. No civilian or security personnel casualty was reported. [1] The Commissioner of Police in Katsina, Ali Umar Fage, directed officers to continue searching for the fleeing suspects. [1]

Cable Recovery Operation in Kebbi

In Kebbi State, police said they recovered 10 bundles and seven sacks of electricity service cables in Bunza Local Government Area. Police spokesperson Bashir Usman said the cables were recovered during an operation in the Kara area of Bunza town on Tuesday. A suspect, Mustapha Abubakar, was arrested and later arraigned before a court. [1] The operation followed repeated vandalism of electricity infrastructure in the area, which had disrupted power supply to some communities. The Commissioner of Police in Kebbi, Umar Hadejia, urged residents to report suspected vandalism and other crimes to security agencies. [1]

UK Airport Data Breach

Private data on millions of customers has been stolen in a cyberattack on three British airports, the Manchester Airports Group announced Thursday, saying the attack did not impact flights or airport operations. [2] The group, which operates the Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, said the data of 8.7 million customers had been compromised. The information included email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes. [2] The cyberattack took place over the weekend, and the group said it became aware of it on Tuesday. The incident has not resulted in any operational disruption and airport operations remain unaffected. [2] Bank and payment details were also not affected. The group attributed the cyberattack to an unauthorised third party. A quantity of customer data has been obtained that relates to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings and in-airport WiFi sign-up. [2] Britain was hit by a wave of cyberattacks last year targeting companies including carmaker Jaguar Land Rover and the retailers Marks and Spencer, Harrods and the Co-op food chain. [2]

Arson at Dutch Refugee Shelter

Someone tried to set fire to a building in Valkenswaard in Noord-Brabant, which is being prepared as a shelter for teenage refugees, police have said. [4] The fire was started at two points on the former business premises on Leenderweg late on Wednesday, and several windows were also broken. Police said on Thursday that they were treating the incident as arson. A flammable liquid may have been thrown against the building. [4] News emerged less than two weeks ago that the refugee settlement agency had approved a plan to house 40 unaccompanied minors aged 14 to 18 at the site for up to five years, a term that could be extended to 10. Valkenswaard council stressed that no final decision had yet been taken. [4] The arson is the latest in a wave of vandalism, fires and bomb scares at sites earmarked for asylum seekers. In June, explosives were found at a planned centre in nearby Nuenen. Earlier in the year, an explosion damaged a building in Den Bosch earmarked for teenage refugees, and a disused town hall in Loosdrecht was targeted during weeks of riots and arson. [4] The domestic security service is still investigating whether organised groups are behind the unrest. [4]

What to watch next: Security personnel continue searching for the eight abducted passengers along the Gusau-Funtua highway and other locations, while the domestic security service in the Netherlands investigates whether organised groups are behind recent attacks on asylum sites.