Seven illegal miners were killed in the early hours of Wednesday at a mining site in the Capitex area of Kuru, Jos South Local Government Area, Plateau State.
The leadership of Operation Enduring Peace made the development known in a press release issued to journalists in Jos.
Troops of Sector 6, Operation Enduring Peace (OPEP), were alerted to the attack around 8 a.m. and immediately moved to the scene, securing the area and conducting a thorough search.
Preliminary investigations suggest the assailants, suspected to be bandits, struck around 1 a.m. with the aim of seizing illegally mined minerals. Ten empty 7.62mm ammunition shells were recovered at the site.
The bodies were later taken to the Primary Health Care facility in Dabwak Kuru for identification and burial arrangements.
Emmanuel Solomon, a senior aide to the Plateau governor, confirmed thay seven people had been killed in the attack.
The Berom Youth Moulders-Association (BYM) also said the victims, aged 15 to 28, had been killed late Wednesday.
