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<\/figure>\n\n\nHowever, government officials told The Associated Press only 12 casualties have so far been confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is common for official figures to be less than that of witness accounts in such attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The attackers opened fire on villagers in Wase\u2019s Zurak community, forcing many to flee into nearby bushes, Musa Ashoms, the state commissioner for information said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are trying to comb the area to see whether we have more casualties or people with bullet wounds,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Idris Wase,s federal legislator from Plateau’s Wase district said that the motorcycle-riding gunmen attacked the village following a security operation that targeted their hideouts and aimed to \u201cwipe\u201d them out of the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Locals have repeatedly expressed concern over how the assailants can attack villages for hours and escape before security forces arrive on the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arrests following such attacks are rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In December, assailants killed at least 140 residents during an attack that targeted more than a dozen communities over two days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
At least 40 killed in northcentral Nigeria after armed men attacked remote villagers during a late-night raid, authorities said Tuesday. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack which follows a similar pattern to yearslong violence in the region blamed on the fight for control over water and land between nomadic herders and rural farmers….<\/p>\n