7 killed in attacks on 2 Nigerian villages

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MAKERA, Nigeria, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- About 30 motorcycle-riding gunmen attacked two villages in Nigeria's Zamfara state, killing at least seven people, authorities said Sunday.

"Seven persons were killed by the armed bandits who were on a reprisal attack," state Police Commissioner Usman Akila Gwary said, referring to a string of attacks in the region in recent months.

The Sunday Trust in Abuja reported three worshipers were killed during morning prayers Saturday in a mosque in Makera and four in Usu. The newspaper said 10 other people were wounded.

The police commissioner said the gunmen, who he identified as Fulani bandits, fled into a thick forest before officers arrived, the Nigerian newspaper said.

Authorities in Kano Saturday found a parked car filled with explosives in a densely populated area near a security checkpoint, Sunday Trust said. People in the vicinity were evacuated and roads were closed until the car was removed by a police bomb disposal unit.

Witnesses told the newspaper the vehicle had been left there Thursday. A resident alerted police Saturday after noticing the car's doors were left open while the trunk was locked.