16 martyred in Nigeria mosque attack

KANO, Nigeria: Gunmen martyred 16 worshippers at a mosque in central Nigeria, a government official said Tuesday, in the latest violence in the restive region.

Scores of gunmen on motorcycles stormed Maza-Kuka village in Mashegu district of Niger state on Monday and opened fire during morning prayers, said Ahmed Ibrahim Matane, the secretary to the government.

"The bandits shot dead 16 people inside the mosque while they were praying," Matane told AFP. Three worshippers were injured in the attack. Matane said one other person was killed in nearby Kaboji village as the gunmen fled the area. "We are still investigating the motive of the attack and we have dispatched military and police personnel to the area," he said. Gangs of cattle thieves and kidnappers for ransom known locally as bandits have been terrorising communities in northwest and central Nigeria.