'Bandits' kill 13 vigilantes, police in northwest Nigeria

Armed gangs have killed 13 security personnel, including two policemen and 11 vigilantes, in Nigeria's northwestern Zamfara state in the latest violence in the region, a lawmaker and residents told AFP on Sunday.

The armed gangs called bandits by locals have, for years, attacked communities in northwest and central Nigeria, raiding villages, kidnapping residents and burning homes after looting them.

Bandits in large numbers stormed Adabka village in Bukkuyum district late on Friday and kidnapped some residents, the sources said.

They laid ambush and opened fire on a team of policemen and vigilantes pursuing them to free the abductees.

Residents flee village

"The bandits killed 13 people in the ambush, including 11 vigilantes and two policemen," Hamisu Faru, a lawmaker from the area said.