Bandits kill 30 in Nigeria attack

KANO, Nigeria: Armed gangs killed 30 people in raids on two villages in an area of northwest Nigeria plagued by cattle rustlers and kidnappers, police said on Sunday.

Dozens of gunmen on motorcycles attacked the villages of Tsauwa and Dankar in Katsina state on Friday, shooting residents and burning homes. "The bandits killed 21 people in Tsauwa and another nine in nearby Dankar," Katsina police spokesman Gambo Isah said. "Most of those killed were old people and children who couldn´t escape."

Police and soldiers deployed in the area after the attack and arrested one suspect, Isah said. The attackers burnt homes, livestock and food supplies before fleeing, said Tukur Mu´azu, traditional chief of Batsari, a district the straddles the two attacked villages. He gave the same death toll as the police for what he described as an "unprovoked attack".