Abuja, Nigeria – On Tuesday morning, gunmen attacked a mosque in northwestern Nigeria, killing at least 13 people during the morning prayer, local authorities said.
Although the attacks in the town of Unguwan Mantau in Katina were not immediately liable, such attacks are common in the northwest and north-central regions of Nigeria.
The attack killed the score and was injured. Last month, an attack in northern Nigeria killed 150 people. In recent years, long-term conflicts have become fatal, with authorities and analysts warning that more herdsmen are occupying their arms.
State commissioner Nasir Muaz said the army and police deployed it in the Unguwan Mantau area to prevent further attacks, adding that during the rainy season, they often attack communities by hiding among farm crops during the rainy season.
He added that the mosque attack is likely to be retaliation for the attack by Unguan Mantau townspeople who ambushed and killed several gunmen in the area over the weekend.
Dozens of armed groups have used the limited security presence in Nigeria's mineral-rich regions to attack along villages and major roads.
Farmers accused herdsmen, mostly of Fulani origin, of grazing livestock on farms and destroying produce. Herdsmen argue that it was a grazing route backed by the law in 1965, five years after the state gained independence.
According to the United Nations, Nigeria is fighting to include Boko Haram rebels in the northeast, apart from the conflict between farming and pastoral communities.