Gunmen kill 13 at pre-wedding party in northern Nigeria: security, local sources

Gunmen opened fire on a pre-wedding party in Nigeria's northern Kaduna state, killing at least 13 people, security and local sources told AFP on Monday, in the latest violence to hit a region plagued by kidnapping gangs.

The assailants stormed a bachelor's party in the largely Christian Kagarko district on Sunday night, the sources said.

The attack took place the same night as another incident in Jos, the capital of Nigeria's restive Plateau state, with nearly three dozen people killed in the attack and the ensuing mob retaliation.

"Bandits attacked a wedding ceremony in Kahir village... killing 13 individuals and injuring multiple wedding guests," a security report prepared for the United Nations seen by AFP said.

The attackers also kidnapped an unspecified number of people, according to the report.

A police spokesman confirmed the attack but did not provide a detailed toll.

"We are aware of the attack but we are awaiting details from the divisional police officer in the area," Mansur Hassan told AFP.

Kaduna state, like many northern states, is plagued by insecurity from many sources, including gangs of armed criminals locally known as "bandits" who loot villages and kidnap residents.

It also faces a spreading jihadist threat, with groups in the northeast extending their reach westwards.

While the Nigerian army has been beefing up its deployment to the region for several years to combat the groups, the country has continued to see a rise in violence, which has drawn the attention of the United States in recent months.

Last month, the United States began deploying 200 troops to Nigeria to provide technical and training support to the country's soldiers in fighting jihadist groups.