No fewer than six persons lost their lives, while another six sustained varying degrees of injuries following the explosion of an Improvised Explosive Device along the Bagega-Anka road in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Residents said the tragic incident occurred around 9:00 a.m. on Thursday when a commercial vehicle carrying passengers reportedly drove over the explosive device, triggering a powerful blast that severely damaged the vehicle.
Local sources alleged that the IED was planted by suspected bandits operating within the area.
Spokesperson for the Zamfara State Police Command, Yazid Abubakar, confirmed the incident to Channels Television during a telephone conversation, stating that the injured victims were currently receiving medical treatment.
Abubakar said the police command swiftly deployed its Explosive Ordnance Disposal team to the scene to secure the affected area and avert further casualties.
He explained that the EOD operatives conducted a thorough sweep of the road to identify and neutralise any additional explosive devices before the route was declared safe and reopened to the public.
“While normalcy has been restored. Our team of EOD has been deployed to the area to sweep the entire area so that another explosion will not be buried again,” he said.