DAR ES SALAAM, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian police on Friday at dawn killed a suspected hardcore armed bandit in the country's northwest district of Tarime in Mara region.
"The robber was identified as Bahati Nyakiha and he was armed with a sub-machine gun with 12 rounds of ammunition," said Henry Mwaibambe, the Tarime-Rorya regional police commander.
Mwaibambe told a news conference in Tarime that three of the bandit's accomplices managed to escape as police confronted them at 1 a.m. when they were attempting to break into a hardware store.
"There was an exchange of fire between the police and the robbers before police shot on the suspect who died later on his way to hospital," said Mwaibambe.
Last week, police killed two suspected bandits after they were caught attempting to break into a shop at Lupembe area in the southern region of Njombe.
Salum Hamduni, Njombe regional police commander, said a watchman at the shop belonging to businessman Esau Mhaville phoned police when he saw the suspects attempting to break into the shop.
On March 18, this year, police killed three suspected armed bandits after an exchange of fire in a forest used as their hideout in Kagera region, northwest of the country.
Revocatus Malimi, the Kagera regional police commander, said the armed suspects who were hiding in the forest were spotted after their arrested accomplices showed them to the police.
