ABUJA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Nigerian military on Friday confirmed that 17 suspected bandits were eliminated in a series of airstrikes by troops in the country's northwest region.

Military spokesman John Enenche said several other bandits were wounded as the airstrikes were executed on Wednesday in the Dunya Forest area of the northern state of Katsina, on the heels of credible intelligence.

A large camp of the bandits was also destroyed during the operation, Enenche told reporters in Abuja.

According to him, confirmatory surveillance missions by the military had indicated that dozens of bandits were regrouping and had established a camp at the Dunya Forest, which also housed scores of rustled cattle.

The military thereafter dispatched fighter jets and helicopter gunships which engaged the location in successive passes, destroying portions of the camp, including their storage facility, he added.

Several military operations are underway in the northwest region of Nigeria that has been wracked by years of violence.

Banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities have recently become rampant in that region. Enditem

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