A soldier based in Beitbridge narrowly cheated death after he was shot eight times by vehicle smugglers along the Limpopo River last week.
The soldier was part of a security team deployed to curb cross-border crime in the border town.
The smugglers opened fire after they were cornered at an undesignated crossing point along the Limpopo River.
ZRP Officer Commanding Beitbridge District Chief Superintendent Tichaona Nyongo confirmed the incident but referred further questions to the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA). He said:
He was on deployment and no one else was injured. As the norm, you can get detailed facts from the army through their national spokesperson.
ZNA spokesperson Alphios Makotore said he would issue a statement next week.
NewsDay reported sources at Beitbridge District Hospital as saying the soldier sustained several bullet wounds and was immediately transferred to Gwanda en route to Bulawayo.