'Bandits' Kill 23 Nigerian Troops in Northwest: Security Sources

At least 23 Nigerian troops were killed when they were ambushed by a gang of so-called "bandits" in a small village in the northwest of the country, security sources reported on Sunday.

The gang opened fire on Saturday on soldiers who were on foot in the forested portion of the Jibia district of Katsina State, sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The bodies of 23 soldiers have been accounted for while some are still missing," a military source said.

In the past, armed gangs, known locally as "bandits," have been involved in cattle rustling and kidnapping, but a number of experts have recently warned that they could forge ties with jihadist groups in the region.

One member of the militia claimed the figure could be "higher than 23," while the hunt for missing troops was ongoing. 

Also on Saturday in the same area, five children were killed and six others injured when a bomb accidentally exploded, a spokesman for Katsina State police said.

It was not clear whether the explosive had been left by the bandits, the statement said.

The state of Katsina, where President Muhammadu Buhari originates and where the overwhelming majority of the community resides in deep poverty, has been highly turbulent in recent years.

The Nigerian army frequently attacks the woods where militant groups are hidden, but the number of troops is inadequate and the civilians are organizing themselves into civilian militias.

In May, the International Crisis Group, an NGO, warned that the armed gangs could be developing links with jihadist groups such as Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), which is already very powerful in northwest Nigeria.

The "bandits" have killed around 8,000 people since 2011 and forced more than 200,000 to flee their homes, according to an estimate by Brussels-based ICG.