Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Armed assailants kidnapped 19 Muslim worshippers after attacking a mosque in Nigeria’s Katsina state on Sunday.
The gunmen carried out the attack as evening prayers were under way at the mosque in Maigamji village and shot and injured the imam and another worshipper before abducting others, said local police spokesman Gambo Isah.
Attack on mosque
He said they rescued six of the worshippers kidnapped by the assailants while efforts were underway to free the remaining 13. He added that the two injured individuals were undergoing treatment in the hospital.
Criminal gangsters, locally known as “bandits” have terrorized northwest and central Nigeria for a long time. They raid villages, kidnap for ransom, steal cattle, and scorch homes after looting supplies.
The gangs, taking refuge in the vast Rugu Forest, usually release the hostages after the ransom payment. Last month, 15 individuals were killed and several others injured in a series of assaults by the Bandits on villages in neighbouring Kaduna state, said the authorities.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been facing intense pressure to curb the violence before he leaves the presidency next year at the end of his eight-year term in office.
