At least 60 people killed in northern Nigeria villages

At least 60 people have been killed in northwest Nigeria's Zamfara State on Tuesday when gunmen stormed four villages in Tsafe Local government area of the state, local residents and security sources told Xinhua. A source living in one of the affected area said the affected villages were Kizara, Shemori, Danjibga, and Keita. The source said the gunmen numbering about 100 first stormed Kizara village in as early as 3 a.m. local time and began to attack the residence of the poor villagers with AK 47 rifles and in the process killed an undisclosed number of people including the District Head of Kizara Bello Ibrahim who was brutally murdered in front of his wives and children. A security source who has been drafted to one of the affected village however told Xinhua that at least 60 people were reported dead in all the attacks carried out in these villages. The source could not give the reason why the gunmen unleashed these attacks on these villages, but said some suspected criminals had made it a point of duty to lay ambush for women and children especially on market days for several months. Police chief in charge of the state Usman Gwary confirmed the incident to Xinhua but declined to give details. Another police source who pleaded for anonymity said the police had swung into action to arrest the culprits.