Six soldiers have been reportedly killed in Ohafia, Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia state as the military engaged gunmen in a gun battle in the area.
Pointblanknews.com gathered that on Thursday, at about 5pm, unknown gunmen had stormed the Ebem Ohafia motor park, fired shots sporadically and fled to the Amangwu area of Ohafia.
When soldiers of the 14 Brigade in Ohafia were alerted to the incident, they stormed the community in search of the gunmen.
The soldiers could not arrest the gunmen, but they later reinforced and returned to the community.
Pointblanknews.com further gathered that in their second visit, the unknown gunmen engaged the soldiers in crossfire.
In the gun duel, six soldiers were said to have been shot dead, while a yet to be undisclosed number of the unknown gunmen were equally killed.
The incident caused tension in the area as residents fled from their homes. Most of them slept in the bush till the next morning when the soldiers returned to their barracksat about 8.45am.
Residents of neighbouring Ebem, Elu and other villages of Ohafia, are said to have fled their homes fearing a backlash from the soldiers.
Army spokesman, 14 Brigade, Iliya Dauda, a Captain, could not be contacted as his mobile number indicated it was switched off.