About 34 residents were killed after suspected Lakurawa terrorists launched coordinated attacks on several rural communities in the Arewa Local Government Area of Kebbi State on Wednesday.

Reports indicated that the gunmen stormed villages in the remote border district around 1:15 p.m., shooting indiscriminately.

It was gathered that a total of 34 residents were killed in the attacks, including 16 in Mamunu, five in Awashaka, three in Masama and two people each in five other affected communities.

Reports also indicated that the attacks triggered panic as residents were forced to flee communities for safety.

Contacted for comment, the Kebbi State police spokesperson, Bashir Usman, stated, “Scores of people were killed as residents from Mamunu, Awasaka, Tungan Tsoho, Makangara, Kanzo, Gorun Naidal, and Dan Mai Ago mobilised to resist the attackers.”

Mr Usman said the attackers also carted away cattle, noting that soldiers and armed locals were immediately mobilised to the area to ensure safety and hunt the assailants.

Lakurawa is a new insurgent group, operating mainly in Kebbi and Sokoto states in the North-West, where the United States of America’s soldiers carried out strikes on Islamic State‑linked militants in December last year.

The latest onslaught came days after the state hosted the UNESCO-listed Argungu fishing festival, about 60 kilometres (38 miles) from the Arewa region, where the attacks were carried out.

Meanwhile, about 100 U.S. soldiers had reportedly arrived in Nigeria to train the West African nation’s armed forces and help them with intelligence in their battle against insurgency.