Gang Kills 18, Burns Homes in Nigerian Village Raid

Dozens of attackers suspected to belong to a gang of robbers raided a northern Nigerian village armed with guns and machetes, killing at least 18 and burning homes, a police source said Sunday.

A group of around 150 assailants attacked Ligydo, a remote farming and herding village in Zamfara state, on Saturday, killing 18 people and seriously wounding six others, a senior police officer told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

"The gang of armed robbers moved door-to-door, shooting or hacking their victims to death... Eighteen people were killed and six others were seriously injured," the officer said.

The attackers who robbed the villagers of money and valuables set houses and vehicles on fire before fleeing, he said. Those killed included children, he said.

"From all indications, the attack was in reprisal for the extra-judicial killings of suspected armed robbers in the area in the past months by vigilante groups formed by villagers to end spates of robberies and cattle rustling in the area," said the officer.

Some of the suspected armed robbers who escaped the earlier onslaught regrouped and engaged in reprisal attacks, according to the police officer.

"No arrest has been made but military and police personnel have been deployed to the area to forestall further attacks and be on the lookout for the attackers," the police officer said.

On August 10, a number of victims were killed in similar attacks by suspected armed robbers in attacks on two villages in the area.

Islamist sect Boko Haram has been blamed for scores of attacks in Nigeria's north, but there was so far no indication of the group's involvement in Saturday's raid.