The soldiers were killed in Ikuru, a Rivers coastal community.

The Joint Military Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta on Thursday confirmed the killing of two soldiers by suspected pirates along the waterways of Ikuru coastal community in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers.

The Media Coordinator of the Task Force, Onyema Nwachukwu, told journalists in Yenagoa that the two soldiers, attached to the force code named Operation Pulo Shield, were shot dead last Tuesday by suspected sea pirates.

“At about 1p.m. on Tuesday, 22nd October, 2013, three of our soldiers fell into an ambush of sea robbers while on escort duty of three Civilian Staff of Z-Cube Construction Company.

“The company staff were on their way to NDDC road construction site in the area.

“Our troops fought gallantly to repel the attack and successfully defended the lives of the civilians they were escorting even at the expense of their own lives.

“They stood by the creed of their profession by paying the supreme sacrifice to ensure the safety of the civilian staff,” Mr. Nwachukwu, a Lieutenant Colonel, said.

The JTF spokesperson said that while two soldiers were killed by the pirates, one soldier was reported missing after the attack.

He added that the boat driver and three civilian staff of the construction firm which the soldiers were escorting also sustained injuries in the attack.

Mr. Nwachukwu said that a civilian staff of the company and the boat driver, who sustained minor gunshot wounds, were recuperating in an undisclosed hospital.

“We are on the trail of the perpetrators who must be brought to justice.

“We are also urging the inhabitants of the area to report any suspicious movement of persons in the community to law enforcement agencies,” he said.

(NAN)