Gunmen killed at least 10 people, including women and children, in an attack on a rural community in Nigeria’s northwestern Katsina State on Sunday during which they also burned down homes and looted livestock, residents said.
Nigeria’s northwest has seen a surge in attacks by armed groups locally referred to as bandits, who raid villages, kill or kidnap residents, and burn homes, often targeting rural communities with limited security presence.
Sunday’s attack took place in Guga community in Bakori Local Government Area, where armed men stormed farming settlements and opened fire, according to eyewitnesses.
Sale Musa, a resident who said he had escaped, told Reuters the assailants targeted the settlements of Gidan Sarkin Noma and Gidan Wawu.
“Yesterday evening, heavily armed bandits with sophisticated weapons attacked the farming settlements … After opening fire, they captured 10 people, including a pregnant woman, and killed all of them,” Musa said.
He added the attack occurred around 4 p.m. local time, when many residents had gone to the nearby Guga market ahead of Eid al-Kabir celebrations, leaving the communities vulnerable.
Another resident, Tajjudeen Dauda, said the attackers also burned homes, destroyed property and stole livestock during the raid.
A third resident, Muhammad Nuhu, said the community had suffered repeated attacks in recent months, but described Sunday’s assault as the most severe.
A spokesperson for the Katsina State police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nigeria faces widespread insecurity mostly in the northern part of the country, from a deadly insurgency in the northeast to mass kidnappings in the northwest.
In the northeast, the U.S. military said on Monday it had carried out additional airstrikes against Islamic State targets as joint operations against militant groups in the region intensify.