17 killed in Zamfara mining site attack, officials say

Armed gangs killed 17 people at an illegal mining site and a nearby village in northwestern Nigeria's Zamfara state, local authorities said.

Authorities said dozens of gang members on motorcycles entered the mine outside Bindin village in Maru district on Monday and shot dead five miners. They then entered the village, where 12 soldiers were killed in a shootout, authorities said.

Local village councillor Abdullahi Musa Mutunji confirmed the deaths. He said the attack was retaliation for the killing of a bandit by miners the bandit had threatened.

Lawan Wanzam said his son was among the miners killed and said the attack was organised by a local gang leader.

Armed gangs have long targeted rural communities in northwest and central Nigeria, including villages and informal gold mining sites.