Gunmen kill 10 in attack on farming settlements in Nigeria's northwest, residents say

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MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, May 18 (Reuters) - 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.

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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.

Reporting ​by Ahmed Kingimi in Maiduguri Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Aidan Lewis

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