16 people die in Nigeria mosque attack

LAGOS, Nigeria — Gunmen attacked a rural village in northern Nigeria, killing 16 worshippers at a mosque and kidnapping others, said a local official.

The assault on Ba’are village in the Mashegu area of Niger state lasted for hours Thursday, local government chairman Alhassan Isah Mazakuka said.

Dozens of the assailants arrived on motorcycles and rampaged through the village, killing people and looting, he said.

“Those people [the gunmen] are dangerous,” he told The Associated Press in a phone interview Friday. “They killed 16 and kidnapped many of our people. We don’t even know the number they kidnapped because they are uncountable.”

Nigerian police confirmed the incident but said only nine residents were killed.