Gunmen in Nigeria’s Niger state have shot dead at least 16 worshippers in a mosque.
A number of others have been wounded in the attack in Ba’are village.
The attackers opened fire on the Muslim worshippers during early morning prayers on Wednesday, Niger state government official Ahmed Ibrahim Matane told the BBC.
He said the motorbike-riding gunmen also shot and killed one other person on the road as they zoomed off.
Residents have now deserted the remote community following the killings.
In neighbouring Katsina state, another group of gunmen have shot dead a senior government official at his residence.
Police say they’re investigating the killing of Rabe Nasir, the state commissioner of science and technology.
The region is grappling with a wave a kidnappings for ransom and killings by armed criminal gangs.
Earlier in the week, at least 23 travellers were ambushed by gunmen and burnt to death inside a bus in Sokoto state.
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Burkina Faso and Niger say armies killed 100 militants
BBC World Service
Burkina Faso and Niger have issued a joint statement saying their combined armies have killed 100 Islamist militants in two weeks of operations.
There’s no independent confirmation of the claim, which was issued a day after Burkina Faso’s president Roch Kaboré sacked his prime minister in the wake of angry protests about increasing casualties caused by jihadist attacks.
On Thursday, at least 13 members of a civilian militia fighting the jihadists were killed in the north of the country.
The volunteer force was created three years ago in an effort to stop Islamist violence from spreading. More than 250 of its members have been killed.
Dozens of soldiers and police have also been killed over the past year.
Source: BBC