Gunmen kill 26 in Nigeria raids

At least 26 people were killed after cattle thieves raided several villages in Nigeria's northern Sokoto state, police said Tuesday.

Armed bandits on motorcycles attacked Warwana, Tabkin Kwasa and Dutsi, a trio of neighbouring villages in Rabah district, late Sunday, shooting residents as they fled.

"Twenty six people were killed in the attack -- they included 24 males and two females," Sokoto state police commissioner Murtala Usman Mani told AFP.

"The criminals came on motorcycles and attacked three herding settlements, shooting people," said Mani, who attended the victims' funerals on Monday.

Residents said the gunmen rode into the villages on two dozen motorcycles, three men on each.

"They attacked around 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) and began shooting people without warning," Warwana resident Kabiru Jabbi said.

The three villages border Zamfara state where kidnapping and cattle rustling gangs operate.

The gunmen were believed to have launched the attacks from Zamfara forests where the gangs are based, Mani said.