By Ahmed Kingimi
MAIDUGURI (Reuters) -The death toll from an attack by gunmen on a mosque and nearby homes in Nigeria’s northwest Katsina state has risen to at least 50, with around 60 others abducted, local officials and residents said on Wednesday.
The attack occurred early on Tuesday in the remote community of Unguwan Mantau, in Malumfashi district, as Muslim worshippers gathered for Fajr, the dawn prayer. Witnesses reported that armed assailants arrived on motorcycles, opening fire inside the mosque before moving through the village.
Aminu Ibrahim, a lawmaker representing Malumfashi, said at least 30 people were killed and 20 others burned alive in what he described as a series of brutal attacks on the community.
Katsina police spokesperson Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu said officers intercepted the attackers and successfully prevented a planned assault on two villages. But while fleeing through Mantau, the attackers opened fire on residents.
Several homes were also set ablaze before security forces arrived at the scene, he said.
Survivors recounted harrowing scenes of women and girls being dragged away by the assailants.
“They started shooting inside the mosque while people were praying,” said Muhammad Abdullahi, a resident. “My neighbour was killed. I was lucky I didn’t come out early.”
On Tuesday, Fatima Abakar, an official at the local general hospital, told Reuters that 27 bodies were registered at the morgue, though many victims were taken by relatives for Islamic burial rites.
Northwest Nigeria has seen a surge in attacks by gangs, known locally as bandits, in recent years targeting villages and highways, abducting residents for ransom, and extorting farming communities.
(Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi in Maiduguri; writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Alex Richardson)
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