Three soldiers attached to the Joint Force in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shield, have been killed by suspected militants in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

It was learnt that gunmen, who operated on a speedboat allegedly overran a military outpost at Foropa and gunned down three soldiers around 1:30am on Tuesday at Foropa in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

After reportedly killing the soldiers, the militants were said to have carted away two AK47 riffles, a General Purpose Machine Gun and other ammunition from the Foropa checkpoint.

Sources said troops had been stationed in the area since 2010.

It could not be ascertained if the assailants were from the council area or they sneaked in from another area to carry out the surprise attack on the troops.

Residents were said to be fleeing the community “for fear of military invasion and indiscriminate arrest of innocent persons”.

The security outfit was said to have evacuated the bodies of the slain soldiers before dawn.

A top security source, who did not want to be named, said the militants struck at about 1:30am in a surprise attack, explaining that the soldiers could have been sleeping when the incident occurred.

The source said, “These militants attack security agents ostensibly to steal their arms and ammunition. Criminally-minded youths are stockpiling arms again. This calls for vigilance among security operatives”.

Efforts to contact the spokesman for the security outfit, Col. Isa Ado, were not successful as calls to his mobile phone did not connect.

Following the emergence of a new militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers, there has been widespread violence in the region.

The NDA has claimed responsibility for recent attacks on the Shell facility at Forcados, Chevron Okan platform at Abiteye in Escravos as well as pipelines transporting oil to the Warri and Kaduna refineries.

President Muhammadu Buhari has already ordered security chiefs to unmask the identities of persons behind the militant group and stop the violence in the region. PUNCH